by Diana ImaneneWednesday August 12, 2026
President William Ruto with South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Wednesday, November 6, 2024. PHOTO/ William Ruto. Twitter
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South Sudan’s diplomatic mission in Nairobi has shut its doors after reportedly falling four months behind on rent, leaving South Sudanese residents in Kenya temporarily unable to access consular services.
The embassy, situated in Nairobi’s Kilimani neighbourhood, closed on Tuesday, August 11, an embassy employee told Radio Tamazuj.
Kenyans.co.ke had not established the total amount owed in rent by the time of publication.
Radio Tamazuj quoted a staff member as saying the mission would remain closed until the South Sudanese government steps in to clear the arrears and resolve the matter.
The shutdown has already disrupted plans for South Sudanese citizens seeking assistance. One visitor who went to the embassy to process travel documents said security guards turned him away after he found the premises closed.
“I was not given a clear explanation for the closure. The security personnel only told me that the embassy had been shut the previous day,” the visitor said.
With the mission closed, South Sudanese nationals in Kenya may struggle to obtain travel documents and other consular support normally handled by the embassy.
The Nairobi embassy encountered a similar problem in November 2025, when it was reportedly shut over unpaid rent before reopening and resuming services.
Reports earlier this year said Senior Presidential Envoy for Special Programmes Adut Salva Kiir had paid three months’ rent for the mission. The latest closure indicates that the embassy’s financial difficulties may not have been fully resolved.
Edmund Yakani, a South Sudanese civil society leader, said the closure harmed the country’s reputation and diplomatic interests. He called on the government to give priority to funding its foreign missions.
The shutdown comes as South Sudan prepares for a transition in leadership at its Nairobi embassy.
Newly appointed Ambassador Simon Juach Deng bid farewell to President Salva Kiir in Juba on August 6 and is expected to begin his posting in Nairobi in September.
South Sudan has reportedly been facing serious fiscal and cash-flow constraints, while its economy remains heavily reliant on oil revenues.
Those pressures have affected the government’s day-to-day operations, including its ability to cover expenses at some of its diplomatic missions abroad.
