Update: My KDP Account Was Terminated, Now I Have Until September 5 To Fix A Missing Country

August 22, 2026

By John Monyjok Maluth

Yesterday I shared difficult news. On August 21, 2026, Amazon KDP terminated my account after 14 years of publishing, because I could not verify my identity. I want to give you an update today, because there has been movement, and because the lesson here is important for all of us building online from places that are often missing from dropdown menus.

After my appeal, KDP wrote back:

"We reviewed your request and have extended the time, granting an additional attempt at verifying your identity. Your new due-date is September 5th 2026. We cannot grant a longer time period than this."

I am grateful for the extension. It shows that a human review is possible and that appeals are read. Thank you to the KDP team for that step.

But the core problem remains unchanged, and this is why I am updating you with full transparency.

The verification form still does not list South Sudan.

I have a valid South Sudanese passport. KDP support confirmed on August 13 that South Sudan is a supported region and that this passport is an accepted ID. I have provided screenshots showing the missing dropdown, and I have explained that I am neither Sudanese nor Kenyan, so I cannot legally verify under those names.

When I select Sudan or Kenya, where I am currently visiting, the system triggers a "Country mismatch" error and fails. When I try to select South Sudan, there is no option to select. The help articles KDP sent about taking photos, accepted IDs, and fixing common errors do not fix a missing country name.

This is what I wrote back this morning to the KDP team:

"Thank you for the extension until September 5th. While I appreciate the additional time, the technical barrier remains: South Sudan is still missing from the country selection dropdown. I am unable to proceed with verification as long as this menu option is absent. Could you please escalate this to your technical team so I can successfully complete the process before the new deadline?"

I am sharing this entire timeline with my Wealthy Affiliate family for three reasons.

1. If you build from an underrepresented country, you are not alone.

Many of us know what it means to open a form and not find our nation listed. South Sudan is the world's youngest nation. Our absence from lists is not just inconvenient. It can erase 14 years of work in one automated action. If your country is missing, document it. Take screenshots. Keep your appeal respectful and factual. Your work is real even when a form does not show your name.

2. One platform should never be your only foundation.

For 14 years, KDP was a trusted partner and I remain grateful for what it allowed me to build. But yesterday taught me again what Wealthy Affiliate has taught me for years: own your assets. Your website, your email list, your manuscripts backed up on your own drives, and your skills are what no termination can remove.

That is why I continue to build on my own site at www.johnshalom.com through Writing Services where I help authors write, edit, and self-publish, Language Services for Dinka and Nuer interpretation and translation, and Technology Services for antivirus, Windows, and ICT support. When one door closes automatically, your skills open another one manually.

3. Systems must serve people, not the other way around.

I believe in pro-humanity and pro-government solutions. Trust in a bookstore comes from protecting readers, but also from protecting authors who follow the rules. A manual review of a South Sudanese passport, or adding South Sudan to the dropdown, would solve this in minutes. It would allow me to verify under my true nationality before September 5 and keep serving readers.

That is what I am asking for now. Not an exception. Just a correct list.

For those of you facing a similar block today, here is my current plan until September 5:

- Keep all manuscripts backed up and safe offline.

- Keep communication respectful, clear, and escalated to the technical team.

- Continue publishing and serving clients through my own website and direct channels.

- Continue documenting China-Africa relations and how investment models are shifting to infrastructure that actually works for people.

Whether the account is restored or not, the work continues. If it is restored, I will share the exact steps so any author from South Sudan or any other missing country can follow the same path. If it is not, I will rebuild with you, on platforms we control, with the same 14 years of experience no system can delete.

Thank you for the messages, prayers, and encouragement since yesterday. They remind me why this community matters. When a system says country not found, community says we found you.

We keep building.

John Monyjok Maluth
Emerging China-Africa Scholar
Website: www.johnshalom.com
Email: maluthabiel@gmail.com
Phone: +211 927 145 394