It is not a secret anymore that Lopit and Pari ethnic communities which inhabit the areas east and north of Torit County have been trapped in a very serious misunderstanding over the name their county should be called. The Lopit prefer the county name LOPA (Lopit Pari) just like BUDI (Buya Didinga) County. The Pari on the other hand prefer Lafon, a small hill (Lipul) in their area around which their six villages are built.
It has now been twenty years, and nothing from the two highly contested names (LOPA or Lafon) has materialized into an accepted name by the two communities of Lopit and Pari.
So, where did it go wrong?
Perhaps before I delve into what causes the misunderstanding, let me first shade light on the relations between the two ethnic communities prior to seeking separate administration from Torit. It is to be noted that Lopit and Pari good neighborliness dates back to the ancient times, credit to barter trade.
The Pari Community has since been great in farming given their fertile land. Almost every year that passed by, they had big harvests. Lopit on the other hand, have been great blacksmiths. So, there was this rare opportunity each one could benefit from. Pari barter food commodities in exchange for iron hoes made in Lopit whereas Lopit (especially in bad seasons) would exchange iron hoes and other times iron weapons for food commodities. The Pari Community conceded this fact in a note (Lafon Hill) written by J.H. Driberg in 1925. It goes: Lafit (Lopit): “In any case, are all friends. And all [Pari] resort to Lafit for their weapons.”
Even when it came to humanity, Pari treated outsiders who went to their village areas with respect and kindness. This led to great relations.
When a school established by the Lafon Catholic Mission came into flower, a great number of the Lopit people in the 1950’s through 60’s went there for studies. Little or no disregard for outsiders was observed amongst the Pari. The Catholic Mission in the Lafon continued to serve the two communities until when the 1983 civil war erupted. When the war intensified, the area was no more. As such, the Catholic Mission was transferred to Ibonni village in 1992.
As well, a big number of the Pari Community sought shelter in the Lopit area of Ibonni (Obunge Payam) and Ohuthok (now Payam). Mindful of the hospitality and human nature of the Pari people, the Lopit here said it was time to pay back.
The peaceful co-existence continued to blossom like never before. In the year 2000, after calls were made to the various South Sudanese communities to request for more counties, Lopit and Pari ethnic communities having enjoyed cordial relations wrote a joint request for a county out of Torit.
A response note sent on 24.03.2023 by H.E. President Salva Kiir, then SPLM First Deputy Chairman, to the Acting Regional Secretary Equatoria Region (Cdr. Johnson J. Okot) had “Lafon/Lopit County.”
Also, approval letters traversing between the offices of the then Governor of Equatoria Region and Commissioner of Torit County were said to be in the name of Lopit/Lafon. However, over time, it was realized that some interest groups have been working in the dark to frustrate the process.
The agreed name though after several meetings in Nairobi eventually was LOPA. However, when the new counties under Torit were publicized in May 2004, to the surprise of Lopit community, LOPA County was missing. What came out instead was LAFON COUNTY!
For all the several individual/community petitions addressed to the state authorities and the President of the Republic by the Lopit Community to have the name Lafon changed to LOPA County, nothing seems to reveal progress. This is the birth of the misunderstandings between the Lopit and the Pari communities of Eastern Equatoria state. Since then, nothing has been the same again. Conflict-induced behaviors took shape.
In 2008 a team from the SPLM national Secretariat held a conference in Torit town on the county names Lafon and LOPA. After serious deliberations, the seven counties of Eastern Equatoria state were consequently asked to vote for the right/unifying name. Justifiably, 6 out of the seven (7) counties voted for LOPA as a unifying county name.
Since then, what one would read in the media was/is LOPA/LAFON County. However, the Pari Community’s craving for the sole LAFON name still did not die out.
At the return of the country to the original ten (10) states plus 3 Administrative Areas in February 2020, LAFON County name came back again, again to the surprise of the Lopit public leading to many petitions against it (Lafon name) but in favor of LOPA county.
All the same, if the Lopit and Pari are to reclaim their place in history, the county name issue (if it is the only wall between them) should be given broader attention.
Actually, it is understood that the conflict over the county name has been given hearing in the Council of States (Upper House of the National Legislative Assembly) last month. We hope from then on, this matter is taken seriously so that a solution is found.
The two communities Lopit and Pari have each suffered a lot.
The writer is the author of the book, OMIAHA Kingdom Unsung, available on Lulu Press Inc. He can be reached via: oipentecoste@gmail.com.
The views expressed in ‘opinion’ articles published by Radio Tamazuj are solely those of the writer. The veracity of any claims made is the responsibility of the author, not Radio Tamazuj.