EES MPs: No room for negotiation with herders

The governor of Central Equatoria State said security forces have been deployed in parts of Juba County currently under seizure of notorious cattle herders to help the latter return to their homes.

Governor Emmanuel Adil revealed this in his meeting with members of parliament from Eastern Equatoria State in his office on Wednesday.

 Adil described the issue of livestock as a national security danger in addition to rebellion, saying some of the herders’ weapons are “unbelievable” making them feel untouchable.

He asked legislators to support the comprehensive disarmament of the civil people after governors and administrators on the initiative last year at the fifth governor’s forum as the best way to achieve peaceful coexistence among groups.

He said the government needs to work together to solve the situation, noting that if each state solves the matter on its own, the herders would sleep and flee to the next state, generating issues and repeating the rotation.

“We are not dividing as South Sudanese but we want the cattle herders to go because they have become [intolerable] to the population as far as peaceful co-existence is concerned,” he told the MPs.

He revealed that they had sent joint security forces in areas where herders are attacking residents, adding that: “we are taking the steps militarily to accompany these animals, but if they refuse to be escorted, we will now expel them by force.”

Meanwhile, the chairperson of the Eastern Equatoria State legislative caucus, Juluis Miolinga, revealed that their goal in meeting with the governor was to persuade him to convene a gathering of the Equatoria parliamentary caucus to tackle the cattle issue holistically.

“Honorable Governor, people are dying and it is time we wake up and rescue our people using legal means, using the media and using other ways that are acceptable to the government and our people,” he stressed.

“We have made noise on radio, TV, and everywhere, but we show very little happening. So we sometimes get amazed because such orders are not obeyed and they have origins where they are held. These cattle herders have become an immense problem for the south, “he stated.

“Having passed two degrees means there is reluctance about obeying the Presidential order; which is supposed to order with the effect of law and power and authority.”

He added: ‘‘Our patience has run out. Our resolve has been tested to the limit and our will has been tested to the limit.’’

Cattle herders have wreaked havoc in Magwi County, Torit West County in Eastern Equatoria State, and Juba County in Central Equatoria State, respectively. They have been accused of killing people, torching homes, and plundering the host community’s property.

Herders attacked inhabitants of Aru Junction just a few days ago, killing 19 people and setting homes on fire.

Miolinga warned that the problem ‘‘has the potential to deteriorate into yet to another uncontrollably horrible situation that will have an impact on our country’’ if not addressed.

“We are also equally together with them. We sing the same national anthem and pay allegiance to the presidency and to the same flag, but that shouldn’t be taken for granted. We are also human beings. We have our own capacities, “he emphasised.

According to Grace Abalang, a Torit native, the brutal killings in Equatoria’s three counties are upsetting especially for the young people and mothers in the two states.

“We have tolerated what is happening in Magwi County, Juba County, and Torit County for one month now and our tolerance is running out,” she bitterly expressed.

Grace remarked the cattle issue is hurting the image of the ruling SPLM party, from which the President hails, and that “we would not tolerate it” if SPLM members want to topple their own government.

Warning issued

All of Eastern Equatoria State’s MPs, including Grace, have declared that they will not engage in dialogue with the cattle herders, preferring instead to have them depart as soon as feasible.

‘‘People are dying, and it is up to us to find them. We want this to be over by the end of the month. “It should not go any farther because what we have seen goes beyond the cattle issue,” she told the Governor.

Grace urged leaders to pay a solidarity visit to the people who have been affected by the cattle herders’ brutality, noting that “we cannot count now as Equatoria’s leaders” and that “this is the time we have to show leadership to our people.”

“These people voted for us, and we still want their vote in the election that we are preparing to go for. It is high time we show leadership to these people that we are here as their leaders and we are working for them,” she said.

“We have to pay a visit to those people, and we have to help them. As mothers of Eastern Equatoria and of South Sudan and Central Equatoria, we are bitter about what is happening, and we are not going to tolerate it” she further stressed.