A group of civil society representatives have reached out the Egyptian embassy for a fact-finding on the mechanisms taken to protect South Sudanese nationals in residing in Egypt.

The acting chairperson of the Civil Society Alliance in South Sudan and Vice President Sheikh Vitale Aligo Samson met officials from Egyptian Embassy in Juba on Friday for a discussion after the recent attacks on the South Sudanese teenager which went viral.

The meeting, which was chaired by the Egyptian Ambassador Yasser Franji, dealt with myriad of issues among them the Egyptian government’s response to secure the South Sudanese communities in Cairo.

Embassy officials gave an assurance that that the problem was contained, and the authorities took legal measures against four Egyptians accused attacking the South Sudanese teenager.  

He further revealed that the Egyptian authorities sought to cooperate with the South Sudanese counterparts to ensure that such issues are resolved in the future.

“The Egyptian authorities through the Ministry of Interior are taking all necessary measures to bring all the accused to justice so that such incidents will not be repeated in the future,” Vitale said.

He cautioned against generalisation adding that the attack was done by select criminals and not all Egyptians

He also appealed to the South Sudanese residing in Egypt to respect the laws of the Egyptian government so that they are not subjected to harassment.

“The embassy authorities have assured us that the Egyptian government will work to provide security for the South Sudanese community in Egypt so that such harassment will not recur,” he said.

Vitale said that Egypt and South Sudan have developed good relations which have strengthened the country’s educational system. Hence, this should be felt in the interaction among the citizens of the two countries.

“We learned that Egypt was and still continues to offer scholarships of 500 students annually in its universities, and this confirms the special relations between the two countries,” he said.