Kenyan Workers Sue South Sudan Embassy Over Unpaid Salaries

A group of nine Kenyan employees has sued the South Sudan Embassy in Nairobi over unpaid wages spanning more than four years, calling the delay “unbearable.” The workers, who held various roles, are seeking more than $300,000 in back pay.

Court documents show some employees had worked for the embassy since 2012 but stopped receiving consistent salaries in early 2016. The embassy allegedly skipped full months of pay and issued partial payments at times. The lawsuit includes claims for unpaid wages from April to June 2025.

Other Kenyan employees at the embassy chose not to sue, hoping the South Sudanese government would settle the arrears through diplomatic channels.

“All of us are affected because we have families. Some of us who have been there for a long time understand the situation, but the nine people who have sued are the employees who came when the salary was paid without any issues. So, when it was delayed, they took that direction,” said one affected employee, who spoke to Radio Tamazuj on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

She urged the South Sudanese government to pay all local staff, whether or not they sued. “What is happening is that the employees who sued the Embassy are claiming they are the only ones to be paid because they took the initiative of suing the Embassy through the court,” she said.

“We hear that the issue has reached the president, and he’s annoyed. For some of us, we looked at it differently—maybe we highlight the issue to the leadership and see what went wrong,” she added.

Another staff member said, “I’m worried we’ll ever get our rights. Someone like me has been unhappy for a long time.”

The lawsuit comes amid broader concerns over unpaid salaries at South Sudan’s foreign missions. The world’s youngest nation has faced chronic economic instability due to internal conflict and reliance on oil revenues.

In a statement Sunday, the embassy acknowledged the delays, which affect both Kenyan and South Sudanese staff. It said the new head of mission met with a legal representative of the affected Kenyan employees on July 3 to discuss solutions.

The embassy expressed surprise that details of the meeting were shared with the media hours later, despite ongoing talks. It praised long-serving Kenyan staff, some of whom worked with South Sudan before independence, and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to resolving the issue “transparently.”