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| By Taban Gabriel |
On 1st October 2021, the Ugandan government through the office of its Deputy Prime Minister who doubles as the Minister for East Africa Affairs Rebecca Kadaga, announced the waiver of VISA fees for South Sudanese Nationals with valid passports.
Minister Kadaga, with a callous decree, urged its South Sudanese
counterparts “to reciprocate” the visa waiver within 30 days or face the blade
of her government revocation of the same.
Despite the celebrations by folks who patronises the joint border
entry between the two countries, it remains questionable at length as to why
Uganda who is depicted in the region as the best playmate of South Sudan took
this long and became the last to execute the article 104 of the
East African Community treaty on the free movement of the block citizens.
By virtue of proximity and long-nurtured amity, Uganda shouldn’t
have employed reservations until then to lift VISA restrictions to South
Sudanese citizens since both have common interests.
Meanwhile, on 21st July 2021, the Kenyan
government announced the removal of visa restrictions on South Sudanese with
valid passports, becoming the third country in the region after Rwanda and
Tanzania to remove visa charges to South Sudan citizens.
Kenya’s move stirred anxiety and put Uganda in the spotlight as
the only country that continued to ignore the binding principle of the EAC and
portraying Uganda as a charlatan friend for decades, raising Uganda’s eyebrows.
More so, the immigration authorities in Juba carried out a silent
search for aliens without valid VISAs, affecting many Ugandans who are the
majority foreigners working and staying in South Sudan and their outcry
captured the attention of Uganda's embassy in Juba.
Well, while Uganda hosts thousands of South Sudanese refugees,
South Sudan provides career and employment opportunities to millions of jobless
Ugandans and is a big importer of Uganda’s products.
So, Ugandan authorities remained arrogant of this position that
South Sudan plays in their economy until the untimely competitive interest
between Kenya and Uganda on opportunities of economic importance in South Sudan
prevailed.
Uganda did not want to be pushed on the side and so forced to
recognise South Sudan at last as an equal footing neighbour which I described
in my preliminary assertion as “The different Variances of Conflict of
Interest”
In conclusion, if Uganda still wants to uphold the status of
serious friendship with South Sudan, it should reconsider the angle at which it
views South Sudan affairs and respect its sovereignty and stop the revealed
pretence.
You cannot call a nation friend when in regional forums while in
your backyard, in the absence of the media, you call the people of that nation
names like “Blue people” and “uncivilised nation” and you really expect it to
be taken lightly!
This must stop if Uganda still wants to enjoy the companionship of
South Sudan.
--------------------------
Taban Gabriel is a freelance journalist in South Sudan.
Email: Gabronn2014@gmail.com
What a touching and elaborative article. Thanks
ReplyDeleteWell done Taban.... Ugandans don't understand that we South Sudanese have helped it's Citizens more than the camping useless side they give us. Which south sudanese is working in Uganda or owning an business in Uganda? How about time they leave this country. Rubbish. If they like, they can come here as refugees and we give them place to settle.
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