Authorities in Kajo-Keji County of Central Equatoria State say over 250 cattle have been rescued from armed cattle raiders this week.
More than 500 cattle were raided from the areas of Kala, Mangalatore, Liwolo, Mere and other villages in Kajo-Keji last week.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj by phone on Thursday, Kajo-Keji Commissioner Kenyi Eresto said the 250 recovered cattle had been stolen from Mere village.
“The other herd was 180, the other was 24 and the other was 85, there are a number of them going above 500. The ones looted in Mere were around 250 but they were all recovered,” he stated.
Commissioner Kenyi urged the communities of greater Yei to be vigilant and report any raids. He warned them against taking the law into their own hands, saying security agencies are working to enforce a presidential order calling on cattle keepers to vacate Central Equatoria State.
“The community of greater Yei actually should be vigilant and make sure they are aware of what is going on. The government is following it up and is working hard to make sure that the presidential order is put in place and implemented fully. You should not take the laws into their own hands and continue reporting any incident that happens in relation to cattle keepers,” he ordered.
The county police inspector Joseph Mono says one cattle owner was taken by the raiders but was later released. No one was killed or injured in the raids.
“They arrested a man identified as Kida Kajo, they tied him and took the cattle but later they released him at night without hurting him,” he said.
Early last year, President Salva Kiir Mayardit ordered all cattle keepers to leave Central Equatoria areas following rampant clashes between the cattle keepers and farmers.