South Sudanese and Kenyan authorities have agreed that the neighbouring pastoralist communities of Turkana and Toposa will share grazing lands and water points during the dry season to avoid conflict along the common border.
This materialized during a cross-border security meeting at the border town of Nadapal yesterday which resolved the free movement of cattle during the dry season.
The Toposa from South Sudan and the Turkana in northwest Kenya have had conflicts over border tensions and grazing lands.
Authorities in Kapoeta East County of South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria State and Lokichoggio Town of Turkana County in Kenya agreed to cease discussions about border issues and to allow Nairobi and Juba to resolve the matter.
“We have finished our meeting with Kenya about security, you know there were issues of conflicts here at the border which we were recently called to come and resolve. This problem between Turkana and Toposa, as the dry season approaches, is that water will be a problem,” Justine Juma, the executive director of Kapoeta East told Radio Tamazuj.
“We both agreed that criminals found causing insecurity should stop. If they steal they should return the properties to the owners. Vehicles are to move freely without interruption. The two governments had earlier hinted to us that we should not talk about issues of the border,” Juma said.
“Toposa used to bring their cattle for grazing, yet some politicians of Turkana say our people crossed the border and we have no powers to talk about the border so since that time it had brought tensions until we withdrew our people because they claim this place belongs to them, but their county government knew that was wrong and that is why they called us and we said that nobody should talk about borders,” he added.
Juma said the herders should graze their animals together and live as brothers and that the issue of borders is the work of national governments in Juba and Nairobi, “they had committees that our presidents had formed and they will demarcate this border in their own time. We don’t have powers to talk about borders, what is important is that Turkana and Toposa should graze together.”
Juma said both governments will monitor the implementation of the agreement to allow peace to prevail between the bordering cattle keeping communities and urged Kenyan politicians to stop spreading hate speech in the media about South Sudanese to avoid conflict.
Meanwhile, the assistant commissioner of Turkana County in Kenya, Kennedy Omodo, confirmed that the local authorities along the border agreed to strengthen cooperation to curb cross-border insecurity.
“The meeting was just to strengthen our cooperation and also to have an overview of our challenges throughout the year and see how best we can resolve the challenges we have so that next year we can have a cordial relationship and work together to facilitate free movement of people and goods,” Omodo said.
He added, “As security teams, we have agreed that we are going to facilitate each community so that we get these criminals and also when there are issues, we facilitate and ensure that the cattle are returned to their respective owners. We have also agreed to engage the local communities so that they can share the limited resources, that is water and pasture especially during this time they are heading towards the dry season.”
Omodo pleaded with the Toposa and Turkana to take this agreement as a golden opportunity to enjoy peace, work together, and share the limited resources they have and share.