The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development has formally written to the Embassy of South Sudan in Uganda demanding an explanation over the non-payment of salaries amounting to Shs500 million to four Ugandan drivers who served at the mission for nearly five years.
In a letter dated 22nd October 2025, and copied to the complainants, the Ministry, through Hilda Nakagga, on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, notified the South Sudanese Ambassador in Kampala of a formal labour complaint filed by Isaac Makubuya, Stephen Kiyaga, Musoga Mohammed, and Boyong Joseph Silas.
The letter, seen by TrumpetNews, indicates that the drivers worked with the embassy between 2019 and 2025, but have not received salaries for 48 months, contrary to Uganda’s Employment Act, Section 42, Cap 226. The Ministry gave the embassy 14 days to respond to the complaint or resolve the matter “to the satisfaction of the complainants.”
This latest action follows an earlier intervention by the Office of the President, which on 8th October 2025, wrote to the Ministry of Gender, directing that the matter be handled urgently after confirming that the drivers had indeed served at the embassy for more than four years without pay.
However, sources within the embassy allege that Brigadier Philip Chol Kader, the Military Attaché, is behind the refusal to pay the drivers, reportedly labeling them as “President Museveni’s spies” and blocking their arrears despite repeated pleas.
Efforts by the complainants’ lawyers, Frederick Francis & Associates Advocates LLP, to engage the embassy directly were rebuffed earlier this month, forcing the matter to escalate to Ugandan authorities.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has since received the communication from the Gender Ministry and acknowledged receipt on 27th October 2025, paving the way for a diplomatic resolution.
As it stands, the Shs500 million salary dispute has now drawn in three Ugandan ministries — Foreign Affairs, Labour, and the Office of the President — in what has become a high-profile labour rights standoff between Ugandan citizens and a foreign mission.
