South Sudan releases Ugandan drivers, trucks seized for military use

The South Sudan armed forces have released Ugandan drivers and their vehicles that were seized in Bor City in Jonglei State two days ago to transport troops.

Leaders of Ugandan truck drivers confirmed that their members were released on Friday morning after pressure from Ugandan authorities and the media, and have since been reunited with their supervisors.

Mr Isaac Katabazi, the chairperson of the Regional Truck Transformation Initiative, said the drivers were freed following diplomatic intervention.

“We the truck drivers of Uganda would like to extend our gratitude for the effort you made till our trucks and brothers were returned,” Mr Katabazi said.

On Tuesday, South Sudan military personnel seized four Ugandan-registered vehicles. 

Two trucks were picked at Laudheli Landing Site and two others at Mina Township. The trucks were loaded with thousands of armed men being transported to fight.

Some of the Ugandan drivers who refused to abide by orders to use their vehicles for military operations were arrested and beaten by soldiers. 

The soldiers also ordered Ugandan drivers to offload cargo and drive them to military facilities.

Mr Katabazi said the seizure caused panic among the business community in South Sudan, where several Ugandan-registered trucks operate. 

Truck drivers feared that if the trucks were damaged during army operations, they would not be compensated.

“The use of privately-owned Ugandan-registered trucks puts their operators, vehicle and cargo in harm’s way and targets by the armed groups opposed to the South Sudan government,” he said.

South Sudan armed opposition groups have not been directly targeting Ugandan private trucks since they view them as unarmed civilian vessels.

Such incidents have previously triggered strikes by regional truck drivers operating in South Sudan.In May this year, truck drivers blocked the Elegu-Nimule border for weeks in protest of harassment by South Sudanese authorities. 

The drivers called off the strike after an agreement with South Sudanese authorities that pledged to remove all unnecessary roadblocks along the Juba-Nimule Highway, cancel illegal immigration charges, and stop unlawful charges collected through empty manifests from empty crates and containers at the border.

South Sudan also promised to reinforce security personnel along the highways to ensure that truck drivers aren’t ambushed or harassed.

However, some truck drivers said the South Sudan officials have made the same promises they tabled in 2024, when truck drivers last went on strike.