JUBA, South Sudan
South Sudan announced the arrival Wednesday of a US deportee identified as a citizen of the Democratic Republic of Congo amid a visa row between Juba and Washington.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of South Sudan wishes to formally announce that Mr. Makula Kintu arrived at Juba International Airport on April 9, ” said spokesperson Apuk Ayuel Mayen.
She said Kintu was received by the Director General of Immigration and the Directors of Consular Services as well as the American and Caribbean Departments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
“American Embassy officials were also present during Mr. Kintu’s reception”
On Tuesday, South Sudan agreed to allow entry to a US deportee identified as a citizen of the Democratic Republic of Congo
The ministry said Monday that the individual, who arrived under the name Nimeri Garang and was denied entry over the weekend, was in fact a Congolese national named Makula Kintu.
He was returned to the US for further processing.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that Washington would cancel all visas for South Sudanese passport holders and block new arrivals, accusing Juba’s transitional government of refusing to accept nationals ordered to leave the United States.
The government expressed regret over the decision.
The move is part of broader efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to tighten immigration enforcement, including the deportation of individuals living in the US without legal status.
“The government deeply regrets that despite this history of collaboration and partnership, South Sudan now faces a broad revocation of visas based on an isolated incident involving misrepresentation by an individual who is not a South Sudanese national,” Mayen said.
