The move comes just days after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the immediate revocation of all U.S. visas held by South Sudanese nationals, citing Juba's refusal to accept the return of its citizens subject to deportation. The U.S. also halted the issuance of new visas and threatened to block South Sudanese passport holders from entering the country.
In a statement released Tuesday, April 8, South Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the government had decided to allow the entry of Makula Kintu, the man at the center of the dispute, 'in the spirit of the existing friendly relations' between the two countries.
Kintu had previously been denied entry at Juba International Airport on April 5 and 6, prompting the U.S. to take sweeping punitive action.
The ministry confirmed that relevant authorities have been instructed to facilitate Kintu's arrival as early as Wednesday, April 9.
While South Sudan originally claimed that the man was not one of its nationals but a Congolese citizen who had been misidentified, it now says it will admit him and remains committed to facilitating the return of 'verified South Sudanese nationals' deported from the United States.
The diplomatic dispute marks the first instance since President Donald Trump's return to office in January that the U.S. has imposed a blanket visa ban targeting all citizens of a single country. Trump's administration, campaigning on a hardline anti-immigration platform, has promised widespread deportations and stricter enforcement of immigration laws.
'This is about national security and public safety,' Rubio said on Saturday. 'The transitional government of South Sudan has failed to comply with basic international norms by refusing to accept its deported nationals.'
The U.S. government has dismissed South Sudan's earlier defense that the deported individual was actually a Congolese national.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau argued that South Sudan's embassy in Washington had previously certified the man as one of its citizens, making any subsequent disavowal "legally irrelevant."
'It is unacceptable and irresponsible for South Sudanese government officials to second guess the determination of their own embassy,' Landau said.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
