South Sudan and Kenya had good plans to build roads linking them, targeting to boost cross-border trade by reducing travel time and distance. But this has yet to be achieved.
When the Nadapal–Nakodok project was first mooted in 2015, the 11-kilometre road was meant to be completed in three months. It was to be part of the larger highway project from Kenya’s western city of Eldoret to South Sudan, some 600km, that could cost at least $700 million. But South Sudan descended into war, leaving Kenya to keep on with its bid.
Now South Sudan is emerging from years of violence. But the two countries have missed a World Bank deadline to complete the technical reports on the cross-border road. The fate of the 11km road between Nadapal in northwestern Kenya to Nakodok, an area between the towns of Narus and Kapoeta in South Sudan, remains unknown.
But the very mention of it has become a political hot potato. The road could be important to shorten travel distance from Kenya to South Sudan. But some have argued it passes through an area whose border has not yet been properly demarcated.
The two countries also share a largely undemarcated part of the border at the Ilemi Triangle, at the northwestern corner of Lake Turkana, a disputed area initially claimed by both Kenya and Sudan (before South Sudan seceded). Juba and Nairobi have often swept it under the carpet to avoid triggering a territorial dispute.
Last week, Kenya’s President William Ruto and South Sudan’s Salva Kiir met in Juba where they agreed to re-approach the World Bank to consider extending the deadline, which has since expired.
Toposa reject road
But the Toposa community in South Sudan's Eastern Equatorial State fear the project could give Kenya an illegal passage to annex certain areas of land.
“We reject any attempt to allow the Republic of Kenya to extend the construction of the road from Nadapal to Nakodok. Kenya is claiming the 11km Nadapal-Nakodok as part of their A1 Road infrastructure, contrary to the international boundary delimited in 1902 and 1914 Order of the Uganda Council,” read the statement signed by the Toposa Community Union chairman Paul Napwon on November 8.
The community says both countries should adhere to the principles of the African Union Border Programme (AUBP), which seeks to preserve the sanctity and cohesion of communities and foster peaceful co-existence between the neighbouring communities.
They want the two sides to implement a memorandum of understanding signed on June 17, 2019 on the demarcation and delimitation of the South Sudan-Kenya border.
Disputes over border incursions are not uncommon in the region. Last week, the authorities held a meeting to preach peaceful co-existence in recognition of the ongoing tensions between ethnic groups on both sides of the border - the Toposa and the Turkana.
According to Juster Nkoroi, executive director of the Kenya International Boundaries Office, they are working with the the East African Community Secretariat and authorities on both sides to organise regular high-level meetings.
"This was part of a process of making it possible for communities to support border delimitation and reconstruction of our pillars.
“We realised due to proliferation of firearms, we cannot access the boundaries, and that is why we involved residents and leaders at the tri-junction point where Kenya’s Turkana, Uganda’s Karamojong, and South Sudan’s Toposa and Didinga communities converge,” Ms Nkoroi said of the meetings between October 30 and November 7.
On Monday, Joseph Mungai, Kenya’s Roads Principal Secretary appealed to communities along the Kenya-South Sudan border to allow the two governments to resolve political and technical issues that have stalled the construction of a critical road from Nadapal to Nakodok.
Roads PS urges border communities to support Kenya-South Sudan project
Speaking during an assessment tour of the over 330km Lokichar-Nadapal road on Monday, Mr Mungai said the road is a critical component of the Lamu Port- South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor (Lapsset) and should be completed by February next year once technical details are finalised.
“The issues are both technical and political and I will just desire the two communities to live in peace and give the two governments an opportunity to address the matter," the PS told journalists after paying a courtesy call to Turkana County Commissioner Julius Kavita in Lodwar, the capital of Turkana County.
The Toposa, Turkana and Karamajong of Uganda belong to the Ateker people group and share the same language and culture. The communities often clash over grazing land.
Lobong Lojore, Eastern Equatorial State governor urged the people to allow the authorities to handle the border issues.
“We appeal to locals to leave border matters to their respective governments and focus on their livelihoods. This is to allow pastoral communities to move freely along the boundaries with their livestock without conflicts," he said.
Last week, Kenya’s Roads Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir met with his South Sudanese counterpart, Simon Mijok Mijak, to discuss pending infrastructure projects.
The 11km road was to be financed by the World Bank under specified conditions, including that all necessary approvals be done before the end of last week, a deadline they missed. Dr Ruto and Mr Kiir said they would seek a review from the World Bank.
“On infrastructure development, particularly the construction of the 11km Nadapal-Nakodok road, the two heads of State noted that it’s a vital cross-border infrastructure crucial for enhancing trade and movement between the two countries. The road will not only benefit our economies but also strengthen the ties between the two countries,” the communique read on Thursday last week.
“It was noted that Kenya had secured a World Bank financing facility set to expire on the 8th of November, 2024. In order to avoid the lapse, the two Heads of State directed the ministries responsible for roads to immediately engage with the World Bank regional office in Nairobi to determine the way forward.”
Additional reporting by Garang Malak
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