Some participants during a peace meeting at Mambe payam, maridi County on 27th Dec 2023. Photo Credit: Bongomin Walter

Authorities in Maridi County and community leaders of Jonglei State have agreed to relocate cattle keepers away from Maridi County within 20 days to prevent violent conflicts in the area.

The relocation agreement was reached on Wednesday between the authorities and communities of Maridi Couty in Western Equatoria State and the community and opinion leaders of Jonglei State.

According to the County Commissioner of Maridi, the agreement was signed in the presence of the head of organized forces with each community adhering to the guidelines.

Commissioner Miri Alfred was speaking to the media after signing the document on behalf of the county authorities at Mambe Payam of Maridi County yesterday.

“We signed the document in front of all the organized forces and all the chiefs and even the community leaders they are around,” said Commissioner Alfred.

“The core may be the basic rule in that agreement that we have signed, it says that all the cattle keepers should move away from the place of agriculture where people are farming because if they are taking their cows where our communities are farming that one it will not work, so that is why we have agreed and they have agreed even,” he said.

“We have also agreed with that that after the subside of water, then they have to move and we have also agreed with them and given some days which is 20 days in that agreement.”

For his part, Dr. Benjamin Malek the head of Bor community delegation from Juba also confirmed the signing of the document.

Malek says the agreement will enable the two communities to live in peace.

“We signed a paper for our communities, the cattle herders, and the communities of Maridi to live in peace,” said Dr Malek.

“It is the right of the host community to have their crops protected and we have urged our cattle herders to keep themselves away from the farm and not to destroy the farms of the communities and any other things that benefit these communities,” he said.

“We want to live in peace and coexistence as people of South Sudan so anything that brings conflict should be avoided by all means.

“We are happy today to have this document signed and we will go back hoping that these cattle herders and communities will live in peace until the time when they go back to their areas.”

The five-page document known as the “Relocation Agreement and Ground Rules” noted with concern the unilateral entry of cattle keepers from Jonglei State into the territory designated as Maridi County.

According to the document, Maridi County serves as an agriculture belt for the people and also holds some national protected forest reserves.

The agreement also recognizes the impending conflicts which may erupt and may cost lives as a result of the occupation of agricultural and honey production lands.

It says the presence of herders is preventing communities from undertaking their substance and livelihood activities such as agriculture, beekeeping, fishing and hunting.

The agreement witnessed by the SSPDF, Internal Security Bureau and the police also considered the incidents between the communities of Maridi County and cattle keepers from Jonglei which led to loss of lives on both sides in 2003.

The document further notes the incident in 2015 between the communities of Maridi County and the cattle keepers from Lakes State which led to a loss of lives on both sides and resulted in unrest in the area.

However, the two communities on Wednesday agreed that the cattle keepers evacuate their cattle camps in Maridi County within 20 days with a consideration of the water level on the designated routes.

The two communities also resolved that the cattle keepers shall follow the route which has been mapped to enable them and their cattle to cross east of Mundri River.

The agreement further states that women and children of the cattle keepers shall be provided with some food by the county authorities which shall be positioned in a designated area on the route to be followed.

It adds that the young men and women of Maridi County and the neighbouring counties shall be persuaded to stop mobilization of any kind and facilitate the relocation of cattle keepers from the area.

The agreement directed the SSPDF, the Internal Security Bureau and the police to protect to enable the cattle herders to evacuate Maridi County peacefully.

On the ground rules, the two communities urged the cattle keepers to follow the designated route to cross River Mundri and avoid the display of force towards the communities along the route to avoid provocation and avoid destruction of farm areas.

They also agreed that the communities along the route should avoid displays of force towards the cattle keepers and shall not refuse to sell food or necessities to the cattle keepers.

The agreement further states that the communities along the exiting route shall avoid by any means the contamination of water points.

It also urged the protection force to desist from collecting any fees or charging the cattle keepers during the escort.