Aerial view of Tambura town, Credit: Isaac Ephraim J. Bangisa.

Some residents of Tambura County in Western Equatoria State are appealing to those displaced by last year’s violence to return home and rebuild their lives.

Fighting broke out between armed groups in Tambura County in June 2021, leaving over 200 people dead and nearly 100,000 others displaced.

The UN Commission on Human Rights in the country once described the situation in Tambura as massacre sponsored by SPLA-IO and SSPDF forces.

Tambura County resident, Rebecca Sigiara was displaced by the armed conflict and sought refuge at the UN temporary base in the area.

Sigiara was forced to move to the army barracks and later escaped to Wau, Western Bahr el Ghazal State.

In the middle of this year, the mother of three returned to Tambura town and is now appealing to those who escaped to return and rebuild their livelihoods.

“I thought like since I’m coming back, other people should also return to the village so that we can live together,” she said.

“Since it is a rainy season, it is good for us to come back and plant our pumpkins and even Okra because as of now most of the people have not planted anything. If people just remained in the camp, I don’t know how it is going to help us.”

“Living in the residential area is good when you have people around you. What we as locals are producing is the one helping us with our children and also support the entire population.”

Another displaced resident of Tambura, Mateyo Makiso Zagino has also returned home, saying the county is now peaceful.

Speaking to Eye Radio from Tambura, Makiso added that it is time for the displaced civilians to abandon UN camps and return to their home villages.

“What I can say to our people who were displaced and are in Ezo, Wau, Nagero and in Yambio is that let them come back. Let people come back home because there is no more conflict here.”

“I am speaking to you here in Tambura there is no war here. There is a peace initiated by the government and the religious leaders, peace has prevail in Tambura. I am encouraging those who left their villages to return back so that fire does not again destroy their houses. Let them come back and start renovating their houses, let people not remain where they were displaced to.”

According to Tambura residents, the move to cease hostilities by the conflicting forces was a breakthrough to end months of armed conflict in the County.

Meanwhile, the Chairperson for the displaced persons in Ezo however said its not the right time for the displaced persons to return to Tambura County.

Dominic Albert Bandima argued that the conflicting groups in Tambura are yet to surrender their arms to the authorities.

“If the residents are asking us to move from Ezo and go back to Tambura, what are the grantees since they are also living still in the UNMISS camp and also in the Ministry’s complex, why are they living there?” he asked.

“There is no peace yet in Tambura though there is some relative peace now, it is not complete. Because people who fought, who attacked the citizens of Tambura which made them to run to Ezo have not come out of the bush. They have not even come out and declare their weapons to the government,” said the community leader.

He added: “Now if somebody want me to go back that means that person is asking me to go back maybe later on feel the same impact of last time.”

The violence in Tambura ended in October last year, when leaders of the fighting groups; General James Nando of the SSPDF and youth leader Angelo Davido agreed to cease hostilities and withdraw their forces from the area to allow peace to prevail.

The local deal facilitated by a group of religious leaders and politicians, was a tool to restore hope and encourage hundreds of displaced persons to return to their home villages.

The November 2021 memorandum of understanding involving the armed groups, the commissioner, traditional leaders, youth, women among others, was a commitment to end months of tension in the area.

The three-page document was a guiding principle toward resolving the violence which claimed many lives in Tambura County.

It directed that no one is allowed to move with a gun, machete, knives, sticks or any other harmful object in the county except organized forces.

The local deal which became effective a year ago prohibits the civilians from wearing army or police uniforms in the area.

It adds that any person found shooting or moving with a gun or other weapon is reliable to a fine of not less than 150,000 pounds.

“Since the intervention from different stakeholders and the religious leaders, situation has changed and is slowly returning to how we were living before,” said Tambura County youth leader, Angelo Davido.

He added that the county has witnessed significant progress toward achieving lasting peace.

“Although there is hatred but not too much because whenever people fight, it take times to end and embrace peace. Sometimes it is also easy for somebody to caught illness but it requires time to recover.”

“So according to what we are observing, life is coming back to normal and if God continue to give us peace and if everybody embrace peace, our lives will come back to normal as it used to be in the previous days.”

Angelo Davido is among those who was previously accused by local authorities in Tambura of mobilizing youth to terrorize civilians.

Speaking to religious leaders in the area, Davido, now a peace campaigner, assured the residents that the youth will not return to war.

“Brethren, nothing bad can remain, everything has its own time. What happened last year was seen and since we are in this year, God has chosen peace for us and we are seeing its results.”

“If you are having doubts that the conflict is going to erupt again, I don’t think so because unless if it is somebody else who is having a different plan to instigate violence.

The vicious violence in Tambura resulted the torching of several homesteads, including the residence of a Paramount Chief. The alleged perpetrators of the conflict have also been accused of rape and targeted killings.

Natale Cosmas, the Executive Director of Tambura County said the area is currently peaceful compared to previous months.

Cosmas added that Tambura residents are willing to address their differences.

“With this process of facilitating, sensitizing people, and counseling them, now we have a different mood for this peace and the communities are willing to have that conference now,” he said.

“If there is a conference people are ready to have conference. Not because of their efforts alone but because of this counseling together with the group of interfaith we will still have concrete peace in Tambura.”

In October 2021, lawmakers representing Western Equatoria State at the national legislature called for a peace conference in Tambura County to address the root causes of the conflict.

They also called on the national government to swiftly send an independent committee to investigate last year’s violence.

Meanwhile, in July 2021, a meeting of First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar with political and military leaders from the state also resolved to convene a conference in the area.

The government then agreed to relocate SPLA-IO and other forces out of Tambura County to ease the violence in the area.

It also resolved to provide food, shelter, and healthcare to the people affected by the violence in Tambura County.

Natale Cosmas however says more than half of those who sought refuge in Wau have returned to Tambura town.

“If there is possibility with other good Samaritans, we think it is good to facilitate the return of IDPs more especially in Yambio, Ezo, even Source Yubu, we have Nagero and others in Wau but 75% of them from Wau have come back.”

Cosmas adds that the major challenge facing the displaced is lack of transport and other funds to rebuild their livelihoods.

However, Dominic Albert Bandima, the Chairperson of the IDPs in Ezo insists the displaced persons cannot return home without peace and proper security, as well as the rehabilitation of clean water system destroyed during the conflict.

“People have lost their homes, homes were burnt into ashes and a lot of vandalization took place. So we need rehabilitation in Tambura. The water system, the roads must be rehabilitated plus the homes,” Bandima told Eye Radio

He added that they also want the government to repair basic infrastructure and facilities, provide essential service and offer psychological support to encourage displaced persons return home.

The conflict in Tambura did not only affected the livelihoods of the local population but pushed hundreds of pupils out of school in rural parts of the county.

Martin Gaza, one of the teachers who declined to name his school says learning in rural parts of Tambura remain suspended due to last year’s conflict.

He urged the government to reopen primary schools in rural areas to allow for the resumption of classes.

“All the school that were outside the town remain closed with exception of those that are within Tambura town like Renzi and Wake Up these are the only school operating now.”

“Tambura primary school is totally not operational. So what I want to say to the government is that let the government try to reopen all the school outside the town so that all the pupils who run away from those areas can have access to education.”

The Inter-faith Council for Peace Initiative in Western Equatoria has made several appeals to politicians in the state to stop manipulating civilians.

Rev. Eliana Jacob Bisi, the Secretary General of Inter-faith Council for Peace Initiative in Western Equatoria says based on their consultation, locals in Tambura want initiatives that will bring everlasting peace to the area.

“In their explanation they mention that they need grass root dialogue and peace conference as soon as possible that will bring participants from all the displaced camps in Yambio, Nzara, Ezo, Source Yubu and Nagero even those if possible who are in Wau.”