A group of land owners is calling on UNMISS to compensate them for occupying the land where the protection of civilians site in Jebel is located.

The 25 landlords say the land was given to the mission by the state government in 2016 without consulting them.

Their representative, Robert Kita, said they went ahead and raised a complaint to the Department of Privileges and Immunities at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

“Any person should have come through us and then we give them that land on condition that at a certain period, we shall be compensated.”

In April, the department summoned the UN mission over the allegation of land encroachment.

Mr Kita said they were present during the meeting but could not come up with a solution that day.

They were told they would be called two weeks later so that the issue is resolved.

So far, he said, there has been no communication from either the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or UNMISS.

“Now it has deprived us in several ways. We are now renting. We are supposed to construct for our families or do anything which can help us,” said Mr Kita.

“The financial constraint of our country is making life difficult.”

Efforts to reach UNMISS, the ministry foreign affairs and Jubek ministry of physical infrastructure, for comments were not immediately successful.

However, in April the head of UNMISS said he was surprised by the claims.

David Shearer said the mission got the land through an MoU with the government.