The Toposa, Murle, Jie, and Kachipo communities signed an agreement that sets punitive measures against those who kill, steal and abduct children in parts of Eastern Equatoria State and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA), in a bid to promote peaceful coexistence.
The agreement signed last Sunday was supported and facilitated by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was conducted in Boma County of GPAA aimed at creating a platform to promote peace and harmony among the communities.
Aliandro Lotok Alfred, the press secretary in the office of Eastern Equatoria State Governor Louis Lobong Lojore said the communities denounced all forms of violence and promised to keep peace.
“The communities of Toposa, Murle, Jie, and Kachipo gathered in Boma and discussed how they can find a solution to some of the disputes that they had in that area,” he said. “Remember it is a dry season in Kapoeta and the cattle keepers from Kapoeta have migrated to a place called Mewun in Kachipo area of Greater Pibor Administrative Area and that movement there had caused tensions between the Toposa and the three communities that are inhabiting Boma.”
Lotok said the communities sat and discussed for four days, after which they signed resolutions to govern their interactions.
“These are some of the resolutions; if a person stole a cow he has to pay two cows and another one cow as a fine and he should also be jailed. Two, a person who deliberately kills another person should be arrested and killed immediately to deter crimes of such nature. Three, should anyone kill a person by mistake he should pay 33 cows and then three additional cows as a fine and he should be jailed,” he narrated.
“Four, if a man abducted a child he should return the child with 15 herds of cattle and that person should be sent to jail, and the person who bought the child must pay 40 cows. A man who rapes a woman must pay 10 cows and two cows as a fine for his action, and then the funny one was that if you are dating a lady and this lady refuses you but you then decided to take her and rape her by force they said you should pay three cows,” he added.
The governor’s press secretary further added that the communities have asked the government to construct a road between Narus and Boma to easy movement.
Meanwhile, GPAA information minister Jay Ajingora Lual reiterates that dialogue brings hope and fosters interstate relations and business.
He appealed to the four communities to live in peace.
“We need to live peacefully, embrace peace and co-exist peacefully with each other. This is what is needed as human beings, without peace we are not going to do anything we are not going to achieve anything,” he added.
The authorities urged the neighboring communities to respect the terms of agreement for real peace to reign in their respective areas.
Since January, relations between the communities have been rocky as they accused each other of cattle theft, child abduction, and the destruction of farms by cattle rustlers.