The residents of Jebel Lado Payam of Juba County in Central Equatoria State have expressed concern over land grabbing by the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces generals.
The residents said the trend had forced them to flee to an island.
The Executive Director of the Jebel Lado area, Gasim Ibrahim, revealed that the land grabbing began on July 17, 2023, confirming that two people, Charles Gori and an elderly man, were killed during their displacement. He added that the properties of the displaced were looted.
“Residents were displaced to the island, and were now suffering from floods during the heavy rains. I am calling on the State and the National governments to intervene to solve this problem,” he said.
Gasim confirmed that the Central Equatoria State and the National Government sent joint forces from the army, the police and other security services to expel a group of land grabbers, awaiting directives from the higher authorities in Juba to implement the decision.
Franco Joseph pointed out that a group of armed forces personnel threatened them at gunpoint, forcing them to leave the area. He added that the land grabbers looted property.
Joseph called on the State Minister for Local Government to solve their problems because they were displaced to an island, which has been hit by floods.
A Jebel Lado elder, who preferred to remain anonymous, explained that the group that grabbed the land was against the government of South Sudan.
“This is a group that wants to destabilize the country at a time when South Sudan enjoys security and stability,” he said.
He indicated that the people of Jebel Lado did not wish to take the law into their own hands, noting that the authorities in Jebel Lado had distributed all the land through legal means.
“Whoever wants to obtain land must submit a request through legal means, and the biggest problem in South Sudan is land theft by the regular forces,” he said.
Local Government Minister Leon Abe Brown visited Jebel Lado and reassured the people that the land grabbers would be expelled, stressing that the state government was working to protect everyone resident of Juba.
Brown confirmed that there were joint forces assigned to expel the land grabbers in all parts of Central Equatoria State, and were only awaiting instructions from the center.
He said the Central Equatoria State Government was working day and night for the residents without discrimination.
“I want to assure you that the National Government, in cooperation with the Government of Central Equatoria State, would return the people of Jebel Lado to their original areas. It is only a matter of time,” he added.
The residents of Jebel Lado were displaced by a group of armed men, claiming to be from the South Sudan Defense Forces in July of last year.