The governor of Western Equatoria State and the local authorities in Mundri West County on Monday gave cattle herders and their cattle two weeks to leave the area.
The ultimatum followed a meeting of community leaders, youth, women, chiefs, and the local government leadership which was chaired by Governor Alfred Futuyo Karaba.
The move comes after complaints from farmers in Greater Mundri who have accused the herders of grazing cattle on and destroying their farms. Following amplified grievances, the authorities resolved that cattle leave the Mundri area or be forced out in two weeks. They also agreed that the affected local communities would raise resources for an operation to force out the herders and their animals.
Addressing the press in Mundri West County on Monday, Governor Futuyo said this is the last warning to the pastoralists to vacate the area.
“The cattle of the Dinka from Bor should return home peacefully in 14 days. I repeated the order for the second time as evidence. I came here in June 2023 and we had a meeting with the cattle herders. This time, the chiefs wanted to start fighting the pastoralists using their local weapons but the report reached,” he said. “I decided to come here and now we have just concluded a meeting with the chiefs of Greater Mundri and we agreed to take responsibility as government.”
“If they (herders) fail to leave this time and anything happens, they should not say the governor is not protecting people,” Futuyo added.
Meanwhile, Mundri West County Commissioner Zelipher Zawa, speaking on behalf of the three commissioners of Mundri East, Mundri West, and Mvolo counties, said she is happy to see the step taken by the governor to expel the herders and their cattle because she tried to but failed to resolve the conflicts between the local communities and the pastoralists.
“My people want to cultivate and we came out with resolutions under the leadership of the governor which we are going to enforce,” she said. “We are going to invite all levels; the national, state, and county governments to implement the resolutions because we need cooperation to see that our brothers have gone back to their places of origin in reference to the order of President Salva Kiir that all the cattle must return to their homeland.”
For his part, Charles Sebit, a local chief from Mundri West County, said they could have taken the law into their hands as communities but thanked Governor Futuyo for urging them not to resort to violence. He added that several Mundri citizens have been kidnapped and illegally detained by the cattle herders.
“We the people of Greater Mundri are the people of peace and we do not want any problems so the cows should go peacefully till they reach their places,” he stated.
Last year, Governor Futuyo issued several orders for the cattle owners to leave the state but they were not respected.