The Embassy of South Sudan in Kenya has been closed over unpaid rent arrears, according to embassy staff and South Sudanese residents who visited the mission. Edmund Yakani, a South Sudanese civil society leader, described the closure of the embassy as damaging to the country’s image and diplomatic interests. The Nairobi embassy has previously faced closure over unpaid rent. South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011, and the Nairobi embassy has served as one of the country’s key diplomatic missions since then. South Sudan has been grappling with a severe fiscal and cash-flow crisis, with its economy heavily dependent on oil revenues.