Bulldozer that was demolishing makeshifts set ablaze at Kubiri-Teman that is neighboring Gumbo-Sherkat - Courtesy

Chiefs in Garbo –Wurnyak village east of Juba city said their ancestral land is being grabbed allegedly by armed-displaced persons despite orders to leave the area.

A week ago, some illegal settlers clashed with members of the land committee appointed by President Salva Kiir during an assessment visit to the area.

As result, two civilians, and a soldier were killed during the confrontation.

According to the community leaders there, some powerful military personnel are now involved, and are using force to acquire land in the area.

Rodento Philip, one of the area leaders, says armed men in military uniform, and claiming to be IDPs are grabbing their ancestral land.

“People who are armed have forcefully entered into our ancestral land. The most painful part is that they are using government machineries,” Philip said.

“These people come with GOSS registered V8s and behind V8 are 4 to 6 land cruisers full of soldiers in uniforms with guns and they are claiming these are internally displaced persons, are these internally displaced persons, really?

“These people have surprised us, because, how come an internally displaced person comes in a V8 with a GOSS registration number? This might be a new style of being an IDP because there is no IDP like that all over the world.”

Last month, the 12-member committee formed by President Salva Kiir to address issues of rampant informal settlements and land grabbing suspended any land demarcation in the city.

This is until it carries out assessment on informal settlements and land grabbing in Juba City and Juba County, including estimates of populations, household numbers and other related demographic data as ordered by the president.

It’s not clear how far the committee has reached with the assessment exercise

But the residents in Garbo say land-grabbers continue demarcating their area despite the order.

According to the chiefs of the area, most parts of their ancestral land have now been occupied by the land-grabbers.

They also say the illegal occupants have barred them from burying their loved ones there.

Luka Wani, the chief of Garbo –Wurnyak boma says the alleged land grabbers are denying local access to their land to bury their dead.

“The soldiers entered our area of residence and started harassing and beating people. There was an incident when we wanted to bury one of our deceased, the soldiers stopped us from burying the corpse,” Wani said.

“What type of internal displaced persons are these? Is this how the government is going to bring peace by claiming these land grabbers are IDPs?”

“Mangalla Payam did well by allocating a place to IDPs from Bor near Mangalla, But these people who came from Juba city claiming to be IDPs are grabbing our land. Some of them came from military barracks and some are being supported by top brasses in the military.”

The community of Garbo are now calling on the state and national governments to intervene.