South Sudan’s Vice President James Wani Igga has called on the Otuho community to cease intercommunal violence and embrace peaceful means of resolving conflict.
Recently the communities of Hiyalla and Haforiere, both in the Hujang Kingdom have been engaged in deadly clashes. Last week, one person was killed in fresh clashes between the communities while two people sustained gunshot wounds in Tirangore Village of Torit County in Eastern Equatoria State. State authorities say tensions remain high in the area.
On Thursday night, while hosting the Hujang King Vitale Abure Omiluk and the Hujang Peace and Reconciliation Committee at his home in Juba, Igga told the Otuho leaders that peace should be restored in the area as a matter of urgency.
“Fighting between these areas and that area and that every three months, my people will not take us ahead completely, true to God. Even until the organizations stopped going there previous years, outside Torit no organization is giving drugs, schools, and other necessities or agriculture because they are fearing their lives,” Igga said.
“If you want to stay without education and other development activities then organizations will say to hell with you. This is important especially our youth, peace must come to the village there my people,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, King Vitale Abure Omiluk of the Hujang Kingdom says the peace initiative should be supported by the government wants to see that the peace initiative taken by his community is supported by the government.
Amidst the boiling tensions in his Kingdom (Haforiere Village) and the neighboring Mayya Kingdom (Hiyalla village), King Vitale urges the government to avail transportation means to facilitate peace activities.
“I want assistance, we want to see that the peace initiative I have taken should be supported, they should support me in that. The government actually should come in to help me to see into it that this peace initiative I have taken is implemented. I want mobility to be able to move to these areas and continuously preach peace, but I don’t have a means. The government should give me a car,” he said.
The chairperson for Hujang Peace and Reconciliation Committee Oduho Dente pointed out that the recent incidents in Otuho land have frustrated peace efforts.
“It has made everybody almost to be frustrated. The current incidences happened on the 5th, 6th, 9th,10th, and 11th. When we met the Vice President, we are talking about Otuho in general not only the Hujang Kingdom. Most of these kings should be empowered, supported otherwise the peace will prevail in all parts of South Sudan but not particularly in the Hujang Kingdom,” Oduho said.
In August, a peace and reconciliation dialogue between Hiyalla and Haforiere concluded with calls for peace and implementation of justice mechanisms to end decades of intercommunal violence between the two communities.