Nearly a
hundred vehicles originally registered in South Sudan have been seized inside
Uganda by officials in that country.
Many of
the seized vehicles belong to South Sudanese government officials. The
Uganda Revenue Authority went house to house to make the seizures.
The
family of SPLA Lt. Gen. Bapiny Monytuil has confirmed a car belonging to them
was taken as well.
This is
the first time Ugandan officials have executed a mass seizure of vehicles from
South Sudan.
The
exercise is only targeting South Sudanese cars.
A
plausible analysis of the current action can be linked to the Ugandan
government’s increasing frustration with the South Sudanese government’s
unwillingness to reach a peace deal to end the current civil war. Such a
peace deal would pave the way for UPDF soldiers, currently deployed inside
South Sudan, to return to normal duties in Uganda.
The
development is seen as an effective leverage tool against South Sudan
government officials that reside nearly full time in Kampala.