Two people arrested in chaotic Gumbo land saga

At least two people have been arrested by the police in connection with the clashes between the government and perceived land grabbers in Grabu Payam on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, fighting erupted between a high-level committee on land grabbing and the citizens accused of illegally occupying land in Grabu Payam when the committee started to demolish their houses.

The fighting left three people dead, two wounded and one person missing, according to police spokesperson Maj Gen. Daniel Justin.

Addressing the media yesterday, Justin said the police had arrested two suspects in connection with the clashes that involved the organised forces and civilians from the area.

He said a high-level delegation led by the Minister of Interior, Mahamoud Solomon, on Thursday met with the residents in the area, including the host community and the Payam administration.

The meeting discussed the issue of land grabbing in the area and the clashes that took place between the citizens and the committee on land grabbing.

“The Minister instructed the citizens to be calm because the issue has already been taken up by the police and people are being investigated.”

“The police chief in Gumbo was also directed to monitor and help the citizens in that area to leave their normal lives, if there is any complaint, he is to address them.

“The inspector general, as well as the minister, will be monitoring the situation very closely to make sure that this issue is resolved for the benefit of all,” Maj Gen Justin explained.

Addressing the issue

Justin said the demolition has been stopped and the committee was tasked with allocating land for those who have been displaced.

The governor of Central Equatoria State, Emmanuel Adil, who serves as the co-chair of the high-level committee on land, said the issues of informal settlement and land grabbing still remain a challenge to the government.

“We discovered that there are people who want to abuse what appears to be a right by involving themselves, even selling land and causing havoc,” Adil said.

The governor said the high-level committee formed by the president had formed sub-committees and one of the sub-committees is responsible for mapping out plans to do social surveys, security committees, and secretariat analysis of the data being collected.

He further said the demolition in Garbu on Wednesday was a decision taken by the high-level committee on Tuesday after evaluating the performance of the subcommittees to go to Garbu and inspect places covered by the social survey.

Adil stressed that the people in the area were informed over two months ago to vacate the whole area after consultation with the host community as to which side of the area should be demarcated as plots.

“I want to thank the administration of Juba County, more specifically the people of Garbu, who agreed that now the south part towards the Nile has remained for the community, but if there is any plan to survey and demarcate an area for people to settle as plots, it should be across the road.”

Governor Adil said one of the responsibilities of the committee was to ensure that there was the enforcement of the law.

“People have to respect the law and that is why there is a government; the committee resolved through the technical team that we must put down those structures,” he stressed.

Michael Chanjak, the Minister of Housing and Urban Planning, aired his disappointment about the reaction of the youth who went on a rampage when the committee tried to enforce the law of organization in the area.

“We are very disappointed with what has happened and we send our condolences to the families of those who lost their lives, and all that was because some people who didn’t want reorganisation shotguns in the commotion and that led to the rampant shooting,” he expressed.

Chanjak warned those allocating plots in the area to stop or face imprisonment by the government, and that the committee will continue with its work as mandated by President Salva Kiir to resolve land disputes in Juba County and the city.

“We would like to tell our citizens that this is not how to claim something, it was not the right thing at all because no one fought with them.

“They were given a place but they refused to go there and want to say this issue should not be politicized because “this is the capital of South Sudan, you cannot leave in a disorganized manner,” he said.