Dr. Igga to command cattle eviction from Equatoria
The Vice President for Economic Cluster, Dr James Wani Igga, has now taken the lead in driving out the cattle keepers to avert potential bloodshed between herders and farmers in the Equatoria region.
Speaking at a final prayer rite for the late Aluzai Mogga over the weekend in Juba, Dr Igga assured farmers in Equatoria of eviction of cattle herders from their farmlands ahead of the rainy season.
He said he would tag along with other government officials to areas occupied by pastoralists such as Lobonok, Magwi, Kajo Keji, and Nimule, among others, to ensure that all cattle are moved to their places of origins.
“They must go away from Lobonok, Magwi all. Tomorrow (Monday), I will go there to see what is the issue,” Dr Igga said.
The conflict between cattle herders and farmers has threatened greater Equatoria’s security, with lawmakers and others warning of impending violence if leaders do not take amicable action to resolve the situation.
Dr. Igga’s move came up after several warnings by lawmakers and activists about an imminent armed confrontation between the two communities, calling on President Salva Kiir to act immediately to prevent the situation.
Over the weekend, the Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), Edmund Yakani, said both the cattle herders and communities of Magwi, Nimule, and those along the Juba-Nimule highway were preparing to confront each other.
Call for intervention
“I want to call on His Excellency, the President of the Republic of South Sudan, Salva Kiir to intervene in the alarming situation between the pastoralists and farmers in Eastern Equatoria and part of Central Equatoria,” Yakani said. He added: “To institute a committee to translate the 2017 presidential order for the return of cattle to the land of origins into effective action.”
Mr. Yakani further called on the speakers of the Reconstituted National Legislative Assembly and the Council of States to send a joint parliamentary committee to assess the situation.
The lawmakers representing Magwi County in Eastern Equatoria State in the Reconstituted National Transitional Legislative Assembly last week also petitioned President Kiir to order an influx of cattle keepers with sophisticated weapons out of the county.
Members of Parliament, Betty Achan Ogwaro, Beatrice Aber Samson, and Okello Lawiri, said in the petition that cattle keepers, mainly from Jonglei State, were forcing returnees back to the camps as they burned villages, abducted children, and destroyed crops.
“We are sure you [the president] are aware of the huge influx of heavily armed cattle herders with modern automatic weapons and their cattle to Magwi land. We believe they are from Bor in Jonglei State,” the petition partly reads.
“This uncalled-for influx of cattle to Magwi County is depopulating the place further as the people are forced again to take refuge for their safety from the unruly, heavily armed cattle owners. Besides, the cattle owners are burning down villages, destroying crops and plantations too,” the MPs said in a petition letter.
The herders, according to the lawmakers, have been armed with heavy weapons, including AK-47s, RPGs, preventing the host communities from preparing land in anticipation of rain season.
“Moreover, it is preventing and depriving the people of Agoro, Ayii, Moli, Owiny-ki-Bul, Kerepi, Opari, Pageri, Mogali, and Aswa areas where the cattle are now occupying most areas of their livelihood. The people are living in constant bullying, intimidation, harassment and basically at the mercy of the armed herders,” they said.
According to Yakani, the national government must find a peaceful solution to the farmer-herder conflict before the rainy season, as the majority of the pot-roasts fled insecurity and flooding in their home areas.
As the situation continues to deteriorate, the governor of Eastern Equatoria, Louis Lobong Lojore, and a contingent of security personnel visited pastoralists’ cattle camps in Opari and Pageri in a bid to solve the matter.
