South Sudan bans Ugandan retailers from Juba

South Sudanese authorities have barred Ugandans and other foreign nationals from operating small retail businesses in Juba, reserving the trade for local citizens.

Juba County Caretaker Commissioner Kalisto Lado announced the directive during an inspection of Kubri Haboba Market on Monday, October 5, 2026.

Lado said foreigners should leave businesses such as selling chapati, tomatoes, onions and charcoal to South Sudanese. He also warned foreigners against operating boda bodas.

“No foreigner shall engage in retail business in Juba County. Someone cannot come from their own country to sell onions, chapati, and tomatoes. What will our women sell? This must stop,” Lado said.

The directive affects a sizeable foreign business community in Juba, including Ugandans, Kenyans, Ethiopians, Eritreans and Burundians.

Lado, however, stressed that South Sudan was not shutting foreigners out of business altogether. He encouraged them to operate wholesale businesses, establish companies and invest in larger ventures.

“If you are a foreigner and want to do business, open a company. To all foreign business communities in Juba, we welcome you and will provide security,” he said.

“However, retail business should be reserved for South Sudanese. If you are a foreigner and want to do business, focus on wholesale.” 

Lado argued that allowing foreigners to dominate small businesses denied South Sudanese women and young people opportunities to earn a living.

The order could particularly affect Ugandans, who have for years operated businesses ranging from grocery shops and salons to boda bodas, restaurants and mechanic workshops in South Sudan. Uganda also remains an important source of goods entering the country. 

The commissioner did not provide a detailed implementation plan for the retail restriction or specify whether existing foreign-owned businesses would receive a grace period before enforcement. 

However, in a separate directive during the same market inspection, Lado gave traders operating roadside and open stalls seven days to meet new requirements, including replacing iron-sheet shops with concrete structures. 

This is not the first time Lado has pushed to reserve small businesses for South Sudanese. In 2021, while serving as Juba City mayor, he made a similar call for foreigners to leave retail trade and concentrate on wholesale, factories and other larger investments.

South Sudan has also previously restricted foreigners from some informal businesses. In 2013, authorities stopped foreign nationals from operating commercial motorcycle taxis, affecting about 1,600 Ugandan boda boda riders, according to Uganda Radio Network.

The latest directive comes weeks after Kenya also intensified restrictions against foreigners operating small businesses. Kenyan President William Ruto ordered authorities in September to crack down on foreigners operating in small-scale trade without complying with the country's immigration and business rules