By Charles K Mark
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has reported an incident of undeclared ammunition being transported into Juba by an UN mission’s contingent rotating into the country.
UNMISS revealed that 16 boxes of ammunition were included among the cargo on a charter flight that landed on February 6, 2024, in Juba.
The mission said in a statement issued yesterday that the ammunition was not declared on the manifest that had been provided to and cleared by the Government of South Sudan.
“The contingent did not advise UNMISS that it intended to transport ammunition and, furthermore, had been informed by the mission in advance of the flight that ammunition should not be included in the cargo as there was no clearance for these items,” UNMISS explained in its statement.
It was noted that when the ammunition was discovered while the cargo was being unloaded in Juba, the mission immediately informed all relevant authorities within the government.
“I would like to underscore that UNMISS itself took immediate action to alert the South Sudanese authorities to this regrettable incident as soon as we became aware,” Nicholas Haysom, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMISS, said.
“It is important to be open and honest in these situations, and the mission is now working closely with the government to address this issue,” he continued.
Haysom added that the matter will also be raised with the troop-contributing country for further action.
No. 1 Citizen Daily Newspaper reached out to the national minister of information and government spokesperson, Michael Makuei Lueth, for a comment.
Makuei said he was not aware of the development and referred this outlet to contact the authorities concerned, calling the incident a security matter.
“These are security issues that have nothing to do with me. As long as the ammunition is apprehended, then they must have reported it to the authorities concerned, not me,” Makuei commented.
This publication also contacted the National Security Service internal security bureau director of communication and public relations for comment, but he requested time to consult and verify the reports from UNMISS, but things didn’t materialize by press time.