Kenyans in South Sudan living in fear since fresh clashes erupted in Juba

Kenyans living in South Sudan say they fear for their lives, are hungry and confused since fresh violence erupted in that country last week.

Sounds of heavy artillery, gunshots, military helicopters and tanks have rent the air around Kenyan Muchoki Thiong’o’s house in Juba for almost a week now.

He and a group of 10 other Kenyans are holed up in the corridor of the house in the middle of Hai Jalaba, a region mostly occupied by top government officials and a major target of the rebels.

“We were relaxing in the house when we heard an extremely loud bang. This was the scariest thing I have ever encountered in my life. We could not move and we were praying the house would not be hit,” Mr Thiong’o told Nation.

The rebels attacked nearby estates and forced residents to flee and cross the White Nile into an area called Shirikat.

On Monday night, President Salva Kiir announced an official ceasefire following days of fighting between his forces and those allied to First Vice President Riek Machar.

HOUSE DESTROYED

But the situation on the ground did not change immediately.

Mr Thiong’o said on Monday at 9am, an adjacent house was destroyed by a rocket propelled grenade.

He said the grenade was followed by several retaliatory gunshots fired by military personnel in the neighbourhood. The shooting continued for several hours. 

“After everything went silent, we peeped through the windows and saw a massive trail of destruction. The only people we can see are soldiers dressed in heavy protective gear with their weapons at the ready,” Mr Thiong’o narrated.

Mr Thiong’o, an accountant in the South Sudanese capital, says they had not been contacted by the Kenyan Embassy.

He said the UN people had circulated a hotline that distressed civilians could use. The line was, however, been jammed throughout the violence, they said.

“We are communicating with our families via calls and WhatsApp hoping that they may be in a position to help us get out of here as this place is not safe at all,” he said.

The communication, however, is bad because of the poor signal and their mobile phones’ low batteries as they can only charge from a generator.

Mr Thiong’o also said they had no water because the lorry that supplied them before the fighting had stopped doing so.

On Tuesday, Kenya’s Ambassador to South Sudan Cleland Leshore said the city had run out of essential supplies.

“The President declared a ceasefire and ordered soldiers off the streets but an hour-and-a-half later, there was massive shooting which caused a lot of panic in the city,” he said by phone.

“The shooting continued for some time and then died down. It has been calm since. Currently, Juba has run out of supplies. I have spoken to ministers here and they say they will organise that the main road to Uganda is reopened,” he said.

SHOPS SHUT DOWN

Though the fighting was between soldiers, civilians bore the brunt.

“Shops were shut down. Affected civilians are taking refuge at UNMISS (UN Mission in South Sudan) bases,” another Kenyan, an electrician who only gave his name as Michael, told the Nation.

Michael said his employer told the staff to go home early last Friday until further notice.

About 100 Kenyans sought refuge at the Kenyan embassy in Juba.

One was shot in the shoulder but the Kenyan embassy said the businessman, who it did not identify, was stable.

By Tuesday, 23 were still at the embassy while the rest had gone back to their homes.

Back home, Mr Thiong’o’s wife said she was very concerned by the situation in the country where her husband was. “It is tough,” she said.

Another Kenyan, Mr Humphrey Odongo, who lives and works for an NGO in Gondokoro, said the situation in the area was calmer on Tuesday morning but people were still scared.

“Since Thursday, we have been staying indoors and all we could hear were sounds of gunshots and heavy weaponry. We cannot access news because all the TV stations are controlled by the government so we only rely on social media like WhatsApp and alerts from media from other countries like Kenya,” he said.

He too, said he had not been contacted by the Kenyan Embassy in Juba.

On Tuesday, the government in Juba announced it had reopened the main airport but Mr Leshore said only chartered flights had been landing and taking off.

“The airport is secure now. We hope commercial flights will resume tomorrow (Wednesday) which will be essential to get any supplies.

“As it is, there is little we can do for now. We are telling Kenyans to get in touch and remain indoors until the situation is better,” he said.