A man armed with an AK-47 drives cattle in Mundri West County. | Photo: Office of the Governor/Facebook

Cattle herders have started leaving Mundri West County of Western Equatoria State, in compliance with the governor’s recent order for them to return home, a state official said.

On Thursday, Alfred Futuyo Karaba asked cattle herders to leave the state within seven days.

The order came after disputes emerged between local farmers and the cattle keepers who are being accused of destroying crops and trespassing farmlands.

However, Alex Digi, the Spokesperson of Governor Futuyo told Eye Radio on Saturday that the cattle keepers have respected the order and are moving to their places of origin.

“Since the governor ordered the cattle keepers to leave the state, he did not just put it as an order, but he started to monitor whether this order has been implemented or not,” Digi told Eye Radio from Yambio.

“He (Futuyo) went to one of the cattle camps and he realized that those people are really moving out of the state, they are going to that side of Rumbek and they will be going to up to Bor.”

“So we realize that those cattle keepers have respected the governor’s order.”