Kenya is directly feeling the heat of the South Sudan insecurity after a Kenyan engineer was killed in an ambush in Morobo county, Central Equatoria State.
South Sudan’s Radio Tamazuj reported that James Kariuki was shot dead and another Kenyan, Richard Matiangi, reported missing after the Thursday attack. Their car was also burnt down.
The two were reportedly travelling to Uganda to buy construction materials when their vehicle was attacked near Bazi, three miles from Morobo town. Assailants opened fire, killing Kariuki, before setting the car ablaze.
Matiangi remains missing, the report said. The two Kenyans had been contracted by Holy Trinity Church to construct a school and renovate the parish.
This is the latest attack in the country, which has in recent months been facing an escalation of political and security challenges. According to the UN Security Council August 2025 Forecast report, South Sudan People’s Defence Forces, the government’s forces, have continued targeting opposition strongholds across several states.
In early June, the SSPDF with reported support from Uganda forces, conducted airstrikes in Fangak county, Jonglei state. The area has experienced intense violence since tensions escalated between the SSPDF and the South Sudan Liberation Army-In Opposition in April.
On June 11, a new wave of violence between the SSPDF and Agwelek militias on one side and the SPLA-IO, joined by a local Nuer armed youth group known as the White Army, on the other was reported. Again on June 23, the SSPDF reportedly carried out airstrikes in Panyijiar county, Unity state, a SPLA-IO-dominated area.
“The airstrikes continued in the following days, with support from Ugandan forces, and resulted in several injuries,” the report adds. In a June 3 press release, UN mission in South Sudan UNMISS expressed deep concern about escalating intercommunal violence in Tonj East, Warrap State, which resulted in hundreds of deaths, the destruction of homes, and widespread displacement.
The press release noted that since December 2024, the area has experienced repeated incidents of violence, including cattle raids and revenge attacks involving large groups of armed youth from neighbouring communities. More than 200 people were estimated to have been killed in clashes in March.
On June 12, the AU Peace and Security Council met to discuss the situation in South Sudan, whereby then-deputy special representative and deputy head of UNMISS, Guang Cong, warned of the steady erosion of gains made under the 2018 peace deal.
Regional peace monitor Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission has also warned of a deteriorating situation. In its quarterly report on the status of implementation of the 2018 peace agreement released on July 17, RJMEC said the implementation of the key provisions of the deal faced severe setbacks during the second quarter of 2025. The commission said progress has largely stalled and the risk of renewed conflict is increasing.
“The general political and security situation in the Republic of South Sudan continued to markedly deteriorate, with the Permanent Ceasefire severely compromised. “Repeated clashes between the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army–In Opposition, along with their allied forces, which began since the previous quarter, are flagrant violations of the permanent ceasefire provisions,” it said.
