Geographic location of Kajo-keji County

Authorities in Kajo-Keji County have swapped 13 illegal Ugandan loggers with a local chief who was detained while visiting his brother in the Arua District.

Last week, Ernesto Tumia, the Chief of Bori Boma was arrested in Yumbe District of Uganda by UPDF while heading to Arua.

He was trying to visit his brother in Arua when he got arrested on the allegation that he had been entering Uganda with SSPDF soldiers.

In the same week, 13 Ugandans were arrested by the youth of Bori Boma for allegedly logging and burning charcoal in Kajokeji County.

Angelo Daya, the Central Equatoria State Advisor on Peace and Security explained what happened.

“There was some tensions between the two community of Kajokeji county of Central Equatoria in particular Bori Boma where UPDF of Uganda arrested the executive chief of Bori Boma Ernesto Tumia when he was going to Yumbe to get his transport to go to Arua because his brother was admitted,” said Daya.

“On his way, he was arrested by UPDF and put in jail in Yumbe on the same note Youths of Bori also arrested 13 Ugandans who crossed into South Sudan,” he said.

“They have been logging cutting trees and burning charcoals and they were all arrested so immediately the security intervened they were not tortured and were brought to Kajokeji headquarters”.

The incident prompted Uganda’s West Nile and South Sudan’s Central Equatorial State authorities to convene a meeting last week to resolve the issues.

According to Daya, the detainees have been freed and handed over to their respective authorities.

“When central Equatoria state heard of that it delegated me so that we talk with the local government of Yumbe district and indeed we went and we had a meeting,” Daya said.

“The meeting was a bit taught but we were persuaded with two agendas one we wanted the people arrested on that side the 13 and the other to be released and indeed they did that,” he said.

“We talked to both communities the other side of  Yumbe and this side in Kajokeji which we did, Tumia was handed into our border and also the thirteen were handed and they were received by authorities in Yumbe district”.