President Salva Kiir appointed Mujung in June with a clear mandate to restore peace and stability. But the region’s security web—complicated by local armed groups, cross-border tensions, and rampant crime—has so far defied quick fixes, even for the war veteran.
The violence escalated almost immediately after he assumed office. On June 20, just four days after his appointment, armed men attacked Morobo County Hospital, stealing medical supplies, robbing staff, and torching two ambulances. No injuries were reported, but the incident forced Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to scale back outreach services in Yei and Morobo counties.
Five days later, a brutal incident in Juba’s Shirkat neighbourhood shocked the nation. A young woman was raped by suspected gang members, who filmed and circulated the assault. What began as a government-backed gang crackdown quickly morphed into mass arrests and the forced military conscription of suspects, who were later deployed to Upper Nile and other conflict zones.
By late July, reports of Ugandan forces crossing into Kajo-Keji prompted an emergency security meeting. Mujung also addressed continuing threats from armed groups in Yei and Morobo, and a spike in urban crime—including five gun-related deaths and three suicides in just one week.
The violence kept spreading. On July 31, Kenyan engineer James Kariuki, contracted by Don Bosco, was killed in a road ambush, while fellow Kenyan Richard Matiangi went missing. The Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) was accused but denied involvement.
More than a week later, MSF suspended operations entirely in Yei and Morobo after two roadside abductions—including one of its staff—occurred within days. Then on August 7, an attack on a cattle auction compound in Mogiri, Mangalla Payam, left nine dead—six civilians and three soldiers—and eight others wounded.
The humanitarian toll is mounting. Since April, over 30,000 people have fled the state for the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, escaping waves of killings and displacement, the United Nations reported. Cross-border tensions have also intensified, with clashes breaking out between South Sudan’s army and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces.
For Emmanuel Khamis, former commissioner of Lainya County, the situation demands urgent collective action. He is calling for a regional security summit involving the four most affected counties—Yei, Lainya, Morobo, and Kajo-Keji.
“I urge the four honourable commissioners of Yei, Lainya, Morobo and Kajo-Keji to convene an emergency crisis meeting to address this situation,” Khamis, also a member of the SPLM Liberation Council in Lainya, told Sudans Post in an exclusive interview.
He believes such a summit could unite key security stakeholders and generate strategies to restore peace.
“These stakeholders should be involved to discuss the situation and come up with strategies to restore sustainable security and peace along this part of the State, which is turning volatile before our very eyes. Inclusive engagement is necessary to contain the situation before it goes completely out of hand,” he said.
However, Khamis’ idea, which has yet to be endorsed by the state government, faces a familiar obstacle: implementation. Past conferences and summits in other regions have consumed vast resources only for their resolutions to gather dust. Whether this proposal would be any different is uncertain.
Khamis also urged Members of Parliament to reconnect with their constituents. He termed parliamentary inactivity as “a negligence of duty” and argued, “if the MPs are serious, they can come up with an initiative and ask the President to facilitate them.”
According to Khamis, the state’s fractured leadership is a legacy of the country’s civil wars.
“Since the outbreak of the conflict in 2013, there has been a wide gap between political leaders and their respective constituencies, and this has left the people vulnerable and the areas to be infiltrated by insurgents,” he said.
For now, the insecurity continues, testing both Mujung’s leadership and the state’s ability to rally around a solution to contain a situation that could spiral further out of control.
