Cattle keepers flushed out of Juba

JUBA – A member of the high-level ministerial committee for peace formed by the Governor of Central Equatoria State, Emmanuel Adil Anthony has told Mundari cattle keepers in Juba to adhere to the call by the State government to take their cattle back to their place of origin.

Gerald Francis Nyukuye, the spokesperson of the peace committee, who is also the State Minister of Peace Building made the statement in an interview with City Review on Wednesday at the State secretariat in Juba.

Francis said the adherence to the directive issued by the governor to the Mundari cattle keepers will accord relief to children, women, and the elderly who have borne the brunt of food insecurity exacerbated by the destruction of crops by cattle.

“It is not that they have been chased but it is also good to listen when your leaders are talking,” Francis said as he referred to the two disagreeing Mundari groups that exchanged gunfire last week. “So, I urge them to give maximum cooperation and adhere to what the government is saying.”

The Tali and Kobura sections of the Mundari tribal group fought in a suspected revenge attack in Kongon-namondur on August 2 and August 3, 2021, north of Juba.

Eight people were killed in the fight and several families were forced to flee. Some sought refuge in Mongoli and Rombur – northwest of Juba while others fled for safety within Central Equatoria State.

This prompted Governor Adil to issue an order on August 9 after he convened an emergency state security committee meeting with the security chiefs.

The order directed all cattle keepers to vacate Juba to their places of origin within three days. It also directed all the State security units within Juba and Central Equatoria State proximal to the city to affect the resolution of the State security committee after the 72 hour-hour ultimatum expires before the failure to adhere to the directive.

Before the order, the governor created three different state committees to look into the issue of the two sections of the Mundari community and what prompted them to fight each other.

Francis said the State ministerial engagement committee has started involving the community leaders of the two sections.

“We managed to bring both sides here from the two sections, the leaders of Kobura and Tali and we talked to them that they should go and talk to their people so that we avoid this senseless tension,” he said.

In their engagement with the community leaders, Francis said the leaders told the committee that they were surprised how the tension escalated to the level that grabbed the public’s attention as the primary and minor misunderstanding was between two people; the leaders.

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