More than two years after Sudan’s southerners voted for a country of their own, some people in lands along the new border with the old rump Sudan remain in limbo. Acuil Akol comes from Abyei, a triangle of contested…
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The government archive in Juba suffered badly during the civil war in Southern Sudan. Tens of thousands of documents were removed from the Records Office, disordered, and stored in sacks in damp basements. Many have been damaged by termites,…
A story in the Guardian about southern Sudan's dilapidated archives and the restoration effort spear-headed by the Rift Valley Institute This is our archive," Youssef Fulgensio Onyalla says wistfully as he pulls back the tarp covering the metal door and opens…
Liz Hodgkin, RVI Fellow and former Amnesty International Sudan researcher, is teaching at St Augustine’s School in the village of Isoke, in Eastern Equatoria state, South Sudan. This is her second letter from Isoke. Other letters: No 1 July…
Since becoming Africa's newest country in 2011, South Sudan continues to remain locked in a land dispute with Sudan over the Abyei region which covers 10,000 square kilometres of farmland, desert and oil fields. People in the contested border…
The South Sudan Law Society's publication, In Brief, covers critical issues in legal and constitutional development in South Sudan. An article in the inaugural issue by Victor Lowilla explains how criminal defendants are often treated as guilty until proven innocent, against basic…
A nomadic group in the disputed border region of Abyei threatened war if it’s excluded from a referendum over the area’s status, after the presidents of Sudan and South Sudan failed to end an impasse over the issue. Abyei…
With its scrubland, unpaved roads and mud brick huts, the Jebel Amer area in Darfur, western Sudan, can look like a poor and desolate place. Under the ground, though, lies something sought by people everywhere: gold. In the past…
A particularly apt description of the funding dilemma can be found in the latest Rift Valley Institute report, which quotes a commentator as saying: The donors, either they are stupid or they are totally naive. The government [i.e. GoNU] didn’t put…
Liz Hodgkin, RVI Fellow and former Amnesty International Sudan researcher, is teaching at St Augustine’s School in Isoke village, Eastern Equatoria, South Sudan. This is her ninth letter from Isoke. Other letters: No 1 July 2012, No 2 October…
Recent Publications
BEING MUSLIM & BECOMING ETHIOPIAN: CONTEMPORARY DYNAMICS AMONG ETHIOPIAN MUSLIMS
June 18, 2024
By Terje Østebø SUMMARY In the wake of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) gaining power in 1991, a religious resurgence driven by various Islamic reform movements produced a more active, visible Muslim community. Over time, the government came
GIRL CHILD BLOOD COMPENSATION PRACTICE AMONG THE LOTUKO IN EASTERN EQUATORIA STATE
June 12, 2024
Girls and women in South Sudan face numerous barriers and challenges: customary law often denies women the right to own land, girls’ access to education remains precarious and harmful traditional practices continue to place women and girls at risk of
TRANSBORDER MOBILE MONEY PLATFORMS IN THE GREATER SOMALI ECONOMIC SPACE
June 12, 2024
SUMMARY The informal transborder movement of goods and people have long captivated scholars, policymakers and security institutions in the East Africa region, in particular in the Horn of Africa (HoA). Special attention has been given to the transborder economic activities