By Jacob Onuha Nelson
The Governor of Eastern Equatoria State, Louis Lobong Lojore, has called on the National Government to urgently provide assistance to facilitate the safe and orderly return of South Sudanese citizens who are trekking home from Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp.
Governor Lobong made the appeal to President Salva Kiir Mayardit during a meeting on Wednesday, according to a statement issued by the Presidential Press Unit. The Governor reported on the desperate situation faced by refugees now crossing the border and becoming stranded on the South Sudan side.
“Governor Lobong also reported to the President about the daily influx of South Sudanese returnees who are returning from Kakuma refugee camp in neighbouring Kenya,” the statement partly read, confirming the severe humanitarian conditions enduring at the border crossing point of Nadapal.
The mass movement of people from Kakuma has been triggered by a severe crisis within the camp itself. Life in the Kenyan camp has become unbearable due to drastic reductions in humanitarian aid, leading to acute shortages of food, water, medical supplies, and limited access to education and healthcare.
In the 2024–2025 period, global funding shortages have significantly impacted the humanitarian situation. In response, aid partners introduced a system of food targeting, which allocates assistance based on assessed levels of vulnerability rather than uniformly providing rations to all refugees.
This measure has had a profound impact on the South Sudanese community residing in Kakuma and Kalobeyei camps. Around 45 percent—or approximately 85,000 people—were deemed to have sufficient “coping capacity” and have been cut off from regular food distributions since August.
Facing extreme food insecurity, many returnees had no choice but to undertake the dangerous journey back to South Sudan on foot through the Nadapal border crossing. Despite visible frustration, including protests and repeated engagement by community leaders, funding realities mean the targeting system remains in effect, forcing citizens to seek refuge in their home country.
Governor Lobong’s call underscores the need for the National Government to mobilize resources to support the orderly reception and integration of these vulnerable returnees back into their respective home areas.