Kajo-Keji County Cut off from Juba City

(KAJO-KEJI COUNTY) – Traders, farmers and residents in Kajo-Keji County, Central Equatoria State, say they have been effectively cut off from Juba for months due to damaged roads and collapsed bridges, leaving them dependent on neighbouring Moyo District in Uganda for goods and services.

Heavy rainfall has worsened the already poor road network, with several bridges along the Kajo-Keji to Juba highway now impassable. The situation has forced many residents to seek essential services, including medical treatment, across the border in Uganda.

Dickson Taban, a resident of Wudu town, told Access Radio that the lack of road access has left critically ill patients stranded.

“We are suffering because we do not have roads connecting us to Juba. Poor patients end up dying because they cannot afford to travel by air to Juba or Uganda,” he said, urging the government to urgently repair the Kajo-Keji to Juba highway.

Farmers in the area say they are losing significant amounts of produce that could have supplied markets in Juba or Yei. Ayile Lolik, a farmer in Mere area, said the lack of road access has left agricultural products to spoil.

“We have enough local and fresh produce in Kajo-Keji for the market, but we do not have a road to reach Juba,” he said.

According to Iyani Moses Franco, chairperson of the Kajo-Keji County Chamber of Commerce, traders have been forced to source goods from Uganda instead of Juba because the road is inaccessible. However, he noted that doing business in Uganda comes with higher tax burdens compared to South Sudan.

“Imagine a farmer losing 200 bags of cassava flour simply because there are three broken bridges on the road, and the rest of the route is completely damaged,” he said.

Franco believes grading the 75-mile road linking the county to the national capital would stimulate local economic growth and reduce dependency on cross border trade.