The Director for Information and Public Relations at the Directorate of Civil Registry, Nationality, Passports, and Immigration James Mapuor Acuoth Leeth has refuted media reports that the South Sudan government was still charging Ugandans visa fees.

The official was responding to a statement reported by local media that Ugandans were being arrested and fined by police and immigration officers over visa fees despite the recent waiver.

In an interview with The City Review yesterday, Leeth described the media reports alleging that immigration officers were charging visa fees as baseless.

He said  South Sudan had already waived visa charges for all Ugandan nationals with valid documents and that they were not being charged.

Leeth stressed that any officer who collected money with the excuse of not having received written communication from immigration offices should be reported to the police or immigration authority immediately

 “Criminals might be in the system as well. So, we are urging the people, if you find people like these still asking for visa fees, you should report it to the police or the immigration authority,” Leeth told The City Review.

“My number is out there, you should call me or call the Ugandan community leader, and then I can interact with them. We will open our ears,” he added.

The officer said they had stopped visa charges since the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation announced reciprocity of the visa waiver.