Museveni visits South Sudan amid tension between Kiir, Machar

President Museveni on Thursday, April 3, 2025 arrived in Juba for a working visit at the invitation of his South Sudanese counterpart, Salva Kiir Mayardit.

Mr Museveni was received at Juba International Airport by Mr Kiir, according to State House.

“President Museveni inspected a guard of honor upon his arrival ahead of the expected meeting with President Salva Kiir and other stakeholders for bilateral talks between the two nations,” reads part of the Thursday statement from Mr Museveni’s press team.

Among those at the airport to receive Mr Museveni were South Sudan’s Minister of Presidential Affairs, Chol Mawut Ajongo; the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ramadan Muhammed Abdalla; the Minister of Defense and Veteran Affairs, Chol Thon Balok; and other senior government officials.

On the Ugandan side, Mr Museveni was welcomed by the Minister of Defense and Veteran Affairs, Jacob Oboth Oboth; Senior Presidential Advisor on Defence and Security Gen Proscovia Nalweyiso; Ugandan Ambassador to the Republic of South Sudan Brig. Gen. Ronnie Balya; and others.

“I look forward to our discussions aimed at strengthening bilateral relations and enhancing cooperation between our two nations,” Mr Museveni posted on his X platform.
His visit comes hours after African Union mediators arrived in the youngest nation’s capital Juba on Wednesday for talks aimed at averting a new civil war after First Vice President Riek Machar was placed under house arrest last week.

Kiir’s government has accused Machar, a longtime rival who led rebel forces during a 2013-18 war that killed hundreds of thousands, of trying stir up a new rebellion.
Machar’s detention last Wednesday followed weeks of fighting in the northern Upper Nile state between the military and the White Army militia. Machar’s forces were allied with the White Army during the civil war but deny any current links.

The AU delegation’s flight arrived at Juba’s airport on Wednesday afternoon with a “Council of the Wise” which included former Burundian President Domitien Ndayizeye and former Kenyan judge Effie Owuor.
Machar’s SPLM-IO party said in a statement that it “warmly welcomes the arrival of the Council of Wise as part of ongoing efforts to de-escalate tensions and support the peace process”.

The AU’s Peace and Security Council called in a statement on Tuesday for Machar’s “immediate and unconditional release”, saying recent developments threaten the 2018 peace deal that ended the war.
Kenya’s former Prime Minister Raila Odinga travelled to Juba on Monday on behalf of an East African regional body to mediate between the rival camps. Odinga met with Kiir but said he was not allowed to see Machar.

Early last month, Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba said UPDF had deployed Special Forces in Juba to “secure it” at the request of Kiir.

“As of 2 days ago, our Special Forces units entered Juba to secure it,” Gen Muhoozi, said in a series of posts on the X platform on March 11, 2025.
“We the UPDF (Ugandan military), only recognise one President of South Sudan, H.E. Salva Kiir … any move against him is a declaration of war against Uganda,” he said.
On March 23, Machar accused Uganda of violating a United Nations arms embargo by entering the country with armoured and air force units, and conducting airstrikes there.
In a letter addressed to the U.N., African Union and the IGAD regional bloc, Machar said Uganda’s military intervention in South Sudan had violated a 2018 peace deal, which ended a brutal five-year civil war.
“The Ugandan forces are currently taking part in airstrikes against civilians,” Machar said in the March 23 letter, urging pressure on Uganda to withdraw its troops.
The U.N. has warned a rise in hate speech could plunge the country back to war along ethnic lines.
Uganda fears a full-blown conflagration in its oil-producing northern neighbour could send waves of refugees across the border and potentially create instability.
On March 27, Uganda’s parliament retrospectively approved the deployment in South Sudan, first announced on March 11.
In a series of since-deleted posts published on X in the early hours of March 23, Gen Muhoozi said: “I’m tired of killing Nuer,” referring to Machar’s ethnic group.

“Tell your leader Riek Machar to come and kneel down before ‘our’ President H.E Salva Kiir,” wrote Gen Muhoozi, who has a history of making inflammatory statements that have previously sparked diplomatic tensions in the region.

Analysts say Kiir, 73, appears to be attempting to shore up his position amid discontent within his own political camp and that the war in neighbouring Sudan has worsened security conditions by leading to an influx of weapons.

The 2013-18 war was contested largely along ethnic lines, with fighters from the Dinka, the country’s largest group, lining up behind Kiir, and those from the Nuer, the second-largest group, supporting Machar.