Governor Emmanuel Adil together with his team during meeting with affected community - Lokiliri payam of Juba County - COURTESY

The cattle keepers have complied with the governor’s order and are leaving for their areas of origin, the Central Equatoria state government has said.

The statement issued by the state information Ministry came after Governor Emmanuel Adil on Tuesday visited Nyerjebe Boma of Juba County – where six people were shot dead over the weekend.

Adil was accompanied by some state officials, including the commissioner of Juba County.

During the visit, the Chief Executive Officer of the area told the officials that his people were attacked by what he called cruel armed pastoralists.

In a statement, the state information Ministry said, the area commanders enforced the 72-hour ultimatum and the cattle keepers have complied with the order.

“The governor and his accompanying delegation witnessed the massive return of the cattle along the way”, reads the statement partially.

The statement further said the governor redirected all security agencies to continue enforcing the compulsory return of the cattle in letter and spirit.

Adil urged the citizens along the way to provide safe corridors for the peaceful return of the cattle herders.

For their part, some civilians of Nyerjebe village who spoke to the media confirmed the return of the cattle keepers, but they appealed to the authorities to do more to protect their lives and property.

“These cattle camps that are moving now, and that you have seen them, all of them were here and ate all these farms,” said one of the farmers.

“When they see that there was no sorghum here, they went ahead to Kerli in Odimu and there they ate grain at Kerli farm after killing people here, and the decision was out, and they returned.”

“This government now is on the sided, we don’t have a government and we are alone, even the governor who was talking here, he is going to Juba and leave us alone here,” said an old woman.

“This village has been taken by cattle keepers, they have told us that they have fought for this country, and they want the cattle to be moving from Juba to Nimule.”

Another unnamed farmer who spoke to media stated that those villagers who were killed were farmers.

“All those [deceased] people are farmers. Three days ago, cattle arrived here and start entering our farms,” said one villager.

“You cannot feed your cattle with my food, that’s why we cried if our father is around, I don’t think because this person of cattle has destroyed my home.”

The conflict between farmers and cattle keepers has been rampant in some parts of South Sudan’s Central Equatoria and Eastern Equatoria states this year.

This is despite several presidential and gubernatorial orders for herders to return to their places.