Truckers block Elegu-Juba trade route, appeal for intervention over 'insecurity'

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Transporters and truck drivers from the East African region have appealed to their respective governments to urgently intervene in what they are calling the ongoing insecurity in Nimule, South Sudan, following a series of attacks.

The drivers have blocked the Nimule-Juba highway, a vital trade route, following a violent attack by armed thugs, killing one and injuring several others. The incident has caused a massive backlog of trucks at the border, halting trade with South Sudan.

The drivers have parked their vehicles in the No Man's Land area at Nimule and at the Elegu border in Uganda, stretching as far as the towns of Bibia and Atiak, bringing cargo transportation to a halt.

Trucks parked. (Courtesy)

(Courtesy)

Drivers claim that they have faced numerous attacks since April, especially in the areas of Rock City and Malakia involving armed men who mount roadblocks during the day, and extort from the victims, which has rendered the route insecure.

The impact of the five-day blockade has caused heavy losses to businesspeople who transport perishable goods to South Sudan and has caused serious shortages of fuel and other goods in South Sudan. 

“Drivers resolved to park their vehicles until security improves,” he said, adding that complaints to the South Sudan authorities had not yielded any results.

(Courtesy)

(Courtesy)

The drivers who have parked their vehicles since April 29, 2026, at Elegu border post are fearing for their lives following a series of attacks on colleagues by yet unknown thugs along the Juba Road inside South Sudan.

One driver, Tesfahaness Gebrelibanos Weldemariam, an Eritrean, was brutally killed, and four others are still nursing injuries.

Uganda National Transporters Alliance chairperson William Busuulwa told New Vision Online that transporters using the Nimule-Juba route and trading with South Sudan had all agreed to park their vehicles until the matter of insecurity had been resolved.

He said drivers had encountered several attacks many times during the day by machete-wielding thugs who rob them of money and other valuables and injure them. One of the latest victims, a driver, was brutally killed on Wednesday last week, which he said sparked off the strike.

The victims are from various countries within the region, including Israel, Simbo Mwanga, driver of truck number KDK 014D; Yusuph Hamisi Saidi, the driver of truck number KDH 703Y; Abdinaasir Ally Abdallah, the driver of truck number KDT 336T and Hassan Yusuph Mohammed, the driver of truck registration number KDD 002Y.

Busuulwa appealed to the Government of Uganda to reinstate joint operations with South Sudan, which were started during the time of former Inspector General of Police, Gen. Kale Kayihura, who said they followed a Memorandum of Understanding that enabled joint patrols along the Nimule-Juba route, which he said have since stopped. He said a team had been stationed at Elegu, and drivers would call for their intervention in case of any challenges.

He said that although the drivers all together from the region were demanding that the South Sudanese government guarantee their safety and immediately stop illegal checkpoints, the transporters from Uganda were demanding that the government of Uganda treat this matter with utmost urgency.

He said the government was already losing revenue for the time the vehicles stay parked, halting the flow of business.

Trade ministry spokesperson Hadija Nakakande said the ministry had been informed about the situation at the Elegu border, and a senior management meeting had been convened on Monday to discuss the matter and would come out with an immediate solution.

“The management is sitting this morning, and we shall update the drivers of the outcome of the meeting,” she said.