South Sudan pays UPDF troops $100 every day, claims former MP

JUBA – Members of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), deployed in South Sudan since February 2025, are reportedly receiving $100 per day, totaling $3,000 per month per soldier, while South Sudan’s civil servants and organized forces have gone unpaid for over a year, according to allegations by a former Member of Parliament.

Mr. Dei Tut Weang Khor, who previously represented Nasir County in South Sudan’s Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) and served as a member of the Pan-African Parliament, made these claims following his resignation from both roles last week.

In an interview with Radio Tamazuj, Tut suggested that the funds for the Ugandan soldiers’ payments are sourced from private individuals rather than official government coffers.

“Each Ugandan soldier is paid USD 100 a day, and I think the money to pay them comes from individuals because our money is in the hands of individuals,” Tut stated.

The lawmaker further highlighted the dire financial situation in South Sudan, noting that government employees, including civil servants and members of the organised forces, have been grappling with salary arrears spanning 14 months.

“Everyone in South Sudan knows that the public funds are controlled by two people whose names I will not mention,” he added, pointing to alleged mismanagement of state resources.

The Parliament of Uganda approved the deployment of UPDF soldiers to Juba in March 2025 following a motion presented by Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, Jacob Oboth, that President Salva Kiir requested his counterpart, Yoweri Museveni, to send troops to Juba after conflict broke out in Upper Nile.

While the specific number of deployed forces remained concealed, the presence of UPDF troops in South Sudan, reportedly part of a regional stabilisation effort under agreements with the South Sudanese government, has been scrutinised amid the country’s ongoing economic and political challenges.

South Sudan, which gained independence in 2011, continues to face severe financial strain, exacerbated by years of conflict, declining oil revenues, and governance issues. The non-payment of civil servants and security forces has fueled public discontent and strained the country’s fragile stability.