Cattle raids and revenge attacks have claimed thousands of lives since 2011 in South Sudan. (Courtesy.)

The Commissioners of Juba and Terekeka in Central Equatoria State are planning to issue a joint order to regulate the movement of heavily armed cattle keepers between the two counties.

According to Juba County Commissioner Emmanuel Tete, the new order will address security, land use, and communal relations.

He noted that armed cattle keepers could increase criminal activities and disrupt peace in Juba County.

Tete made these remarks during the swearing-in of the Juba County Legislative Council speaker on Wednesday, August 21, 2024.

“We talked about the issue of cattle keepers with the commissioner of Terekeka County, we are going to establish laws that no cattle can move from an area to an area with heavy weapons,” said Commissioner Tete.

“If cattle are coming from Terekeka county to Juba county they must be issued a departure order and they must be disarmed because when you are guarding cattle with these heavy guns,” he said.

“The state government is working day and night to solve these issues, but there have been some issues above the capacity of the county commissioner. Issues cannot be solved in one day, there are steps plans, and strategies we are working on it in Juba County.”

Commissioner Emmanuel Tete went on to say for the initiative to successfully be implemented, it requires the state government’s ability to enforce the order while upholding the rights and needs of all communities involved.

In recent years, incidents of conflict have been reported between farmers and cattle keepers in Juba County of Central Equatoria state.