Nairobi, Sept. 11 — A long-simmering territorial dispute between Kenya and South Sudan over the Ilemi Triangle has resurfaced, throwing into fresh doubt the completion of a strategic highway meant to connect the two countries and open up trade across the northern corridor.
The Ilemi Triangle, a semi-arid expanse of between 10,000 and 14,000 square kilometres, has been claimed by both nations for decades, a legacy of colonial-era boundary lines that were drawn for administrative and grazing purposes rather than as a permanent international border. Kenya has exercised de facto control over the territory for years, while South Sudan inherited its claim to the area from Sudan upon gaining independence in 2011.
The dispute has taken on new urgency because it sits astride the World Bank-backed Eldoret-Kitale-Lodwar-Lokichogio-Nadapal-Juba highway, a roughly 600-kilometre corridor estimated to cost in the region of 700 million US dollars that is intended to link Kenya’s road network to South Sudan’s capital. While the Kenyan stretch of the road is understood to be complete, an 11-kilometre section near Nadapal-Nakodok has remained stalled since it was first proposed in 2015, reportedly because South Sudanese authorities have declined to allow a Kenyan contractor to proceed with construction in the contested area.
South Sudan’s Vice-President is said to have renewed his country’s claim to the territory in recent days, reportedly telling reporters that the Ilemi Triangle should be treated as a matter open for discussion rather than settled Kenyan territory. The remarks have added a diplomatic edge to what had largely been treated as a technical infrastructure hold-up.
Officials from both countries held bilateral talks last week, led on the Kenyan side by the Cabinet Secretary in charge of East African Community affairs. The two delegations are understood to have signed a joint communiqué reaffirming their shared commitment to regional connectivity, though no construction timeline was agreed upon for the disputed stretch.
Regional trade analysts have warned that continued delays could undermine the broader ambition of linking Kenya’s Lamu port corridor to South Sudan and onward markets, a project long touted as central to boosting intra-regional trade. For communities along the border, many of them pastoralist groups who have long moved across the disputed territory, the diplomatic wrangling adds further uncertainty to an already fragile security and economic situation in the region.