NIMULE · DOCUMENT VERIFICATION
What Do We Know About the Circulating Travel Notice at Nimule?
A photographed notice claims that officers and senior government officials need presidential permission to travel abroad for three months. Its status and enforcement have not been confirmed.
JUBA — The photographed page is dated 3 October 2026 and attributed to the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence’s Nimule Border Security office. It refers to an alleged instruction dated 2 October. Its text says officers in the SSPDF and other organized forces from second lieutenant to general, along with directors-general, undersecretaries, ministers and advisers, may not travel abroad for three months without permission from the commander-in-chief and president.
It is addressed to “all security organs” and appears to be signed by Lt. Col. John Mayiik Baguot. Those are details visible on the forwarded copy, not proof of authenticity or legal effect.
What the army spokesperson has said
Eye Radio reports that SSPDF spokesperson Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang has seen the document circulating on social media and said it appeared to have been issued at a lower level. He said he would contact his superior before clarifying its status. According to that report, he did not confirm authorization by senior military leadership, application beyond Nimule, or whether officials have actually been stopped.
What would a restriction mean?
If a valid order were issued and enforced, it could affect official travel, cross-border duties and the ability of civilian officeholders to leave the country. But the page does not itself explain the legal basis, issuing authority, appeal process, emergency exceptions or whether it applies to airports and other border crossings. Its timing alone does not establish an election-related motive.
Our questions to the SSPDF, Interior Ministry and presidency are straightforward: Is there an authenticated order dated 2 October? Who approved it? Has Nimule been instructed to enforce it, and has anyone been refused exit? Does it apply nationally? What written law or regulation governs the permission process?
Source: Forwarded document supplied to South Sudan Press; Eye Radio’s account of the SSPDF spokesperson’s response. This report will be updated if the authorities publish a clarification.