JUBA—The Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) has rejected what it describes as attempts to collectively blame its government and the entire Murle community for alleged child trafficking in South Sudan’s capital, Juba.
In a statement to Sudans Post following the arrest of eight suspects, including a former GPAA official, by SSPDF Military Intelligence over alleged child trafficking, caretaker Information Minister Jacob Werchum Juok said those suspected of involvement should be investigated and held accountable through the courts.
However, Juok disputed claims linking areas under GPAA, particularly Gumuruk and Pibor, to alleged child trafficking markets, arguing that accusations against specific individuals should not be attributed to an entire community or government.
“The fight against child abduction and trafficking involves no ethnic or tribal bias. We firmly reject any narrative that portrays the people of Greater Pibor as collectively responsible for the criminal acts of some individuals,” he said.
Juok acknowledged that child abductions occur in and around Juba, with some individuals stealing children from neighbouring communities, but insisted that such crimes should not be used to stigmatise the Murle community.
“They were naming those counties as the hotspots for child trafficking and then as markets for the children. So, we have clarified to them that there is no market in those places,” he added.
He said the administration was not part of any criminal network and urged authorities to establish individual responsibility through thorough investigations.
He said the GPAA government condemned child abduction and trafficking and supported ongoing efforts by SSPDF Military Intelligence to dismantle suspected criminal networks.
The response follows an operation by SSPDF Military Intelligence that led to the arrest of eight prime suspects over alleged trafficking activities in Suk Darfur, northeast of Juba.
According to army spokesperson Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang, residents had reported 23 children missing over the past three years. Investigators allegedly uncovered a network in which children were lured, held in houses, and sold to buyers.
Lul alleged that children were sold for millions of South Sudanese pounds in Juba or exchanged for livestock in the Greater Pibor Administrative Area.
“A baby girl fetches SSP15,000,000, an equivalent of $1,700 USD, whereas a boy goes for SSP9,000,000, $1,100 USD, in Juba,” Lul said.
In GPAA, the army reported that boys were exchanged for between 45 and 50 cows, while girls fetched between 30 and 45 cows.
The army also named Stephen Jongkuch Kudumoch, a former GPAA finance minister, as one of the alleged dealers in child trafficking in Juba.
Juok said the allegations against the former official should be handled through the justice system rather than used to implicate the entire administration.
“The accusation against Hon. Stephen Jongkuch Kudumoch does not establish his guilt or imply that the GPAA Government supports, protects, or ignores criminal activities,” he said.
The minister said the administration had taken steps to address child abduction, including facilitating the return of 27 women and children to Jonglei, Eastern Equatoria and Central Equatoria states between June and August this year.
He said the returns demonstrated the administration’s commitment to working with neighbouring communities and authorities to recover abducted people and combat criminal activity.
Juok called for continued cooperation among GPAA authorities, national security agencies, and neighbouring states to investigate suspected trafficking networks, rescue abducted children, and bring those responsible to justice.
Child abductions have long been reported in parts of Jonglei State and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area, often linked to communal conflicts, cattle raiding, road ambushes, and ineffective law enforcement and justice systems.
The US State Department’s 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report identified weak law enforcement and limited judicial capacity as obstacles to combating trafficking in South Sudan.