South Sudan’s interior ministry is to deport 16 Kenyans and 4 Britons, employed by a private security company, following a pay dispute, allegations of unpaid taxes and the exploitation of local workers.

Their deportation comes a few days after Insight Security failed to resolve a pay dispute over salaries and arrears of guards working for the firm, the East African reported.

The deportation order, which comes a week after the arrests of senior company officials, was announced by Juba City Council which said the foreigners had been given 72 hours to pay the outstanding salaries as well as pensions owed to their South Sudan employees.

South Sudanese officials claimed the locals were paid wages lower than the US dollar amounts stipulated in their contracts.

However, the contract also stated that wages would be paid using the official rate of the Bank of South Sudan, meaning the guards were to be paid in the local currency.

Insight Management, meanwhile, has refuted the allegations and defended itself saying it had abided by the law.