As Acholi people, we are genuinely concerned about what is going on and we strongly condemn the attack on peace-loving farmers by cattle keepers from other states.
This kind of attacks might lead to greater conflict across the state,” said Caroline Waudo, the Head of the UN Peacekeeping mission’s Field Office in Eastern Equatoria. Therefore, we call upon all the international human rights and leaders to step up their efforts to end this kind of attack on our people. Now, the UN Peacekeepers are trying to support local authorities to reduce tensions by holding peace dialogues and are preparing to send integrated patrols to deter any further violence.
Looking back, we can see that, this kind of conflict and tensions between the local farmers in the Acholi territory of Magwi and the nomadic cattle keepers from Jonglei and other states have been a festering issue for years.
It’s clear that the effect of widespread floods across the country is forcing cattle herders, to move to find ample pastures for their animals to graze. And Acholi regions of Eastern Equatoria has always been the destination of choices due to spacious farmland.
We, therefore, request the responsible authority to find a sustainable solution to end this kind of repeated conflict in our regions.
The cattle keepers do not respect the boundaries, they do not care about our crops and farmland. They failed to follow the directions from the governor of Eastern Equatoria to only graze as well as herders to temporarily settle within the designated land around Kidepo, Lafon and Lopit, Instead, they spread over to different regions of our farmland and now there are over 3,000 residents are reported to have been displaced from their homes.
We understood that the floods had created a situation where we must support our neighbouring communities. However, we need the cattle keepers to respect the boundaries set for them. Even our neighbouring cattle herders with Eastern Equatoria are not allowed to graze their animals in Magwi farmlands, because we Acholi people are primarily farmers, we don’t want our lands and crops to be trampled and destroyed by the cattle. This farmland and small streams of rivers in our areas are our lifelines. If they are devastated and our crop cycles are ruined, the whole of Eastern Equatoria will face a massive shortage of food.
We appreciate the effort of the Eastern Equatoria state to try to settle this issue, however, more needs to be done because the herders are reluctant to leave our farmlands and the situation is going to escalate for the worse if not managed with care.
There is a clear threat of increased violence in Magwi county caused by these cattle keepers. The proliferation of small arms among herders means that they can often forcefully take over our farmlands from our people because, we are unarmed communities, we do not want our land to be grabbed and converted into grazing pastures for their animals.
Now many of our community must leave behind their livelihood, some of their houses were set on fire, they fled without anything because the herders are armed, and our people are in danger of being killed. We are peace-loving people, we don’t possess guns, why are they doing this to us.
We urge UNMISS to expedite its engagements with state authorities to keep the peace and gain support from the national government to strongly enforce the 2015 and 2017 Presidential Decrees which direct cattle keepers to return to their original settlements.
We Acholi community worldwide, calls upon the government of Eastern Equatoria and South Sudan at large to prioritise community dialogue between civilians and those armed herders to resolve the existing disputes between our farmers in Magwi areas and pastoralists as well as promote peaceful coexistence for all the people in the regions.
With thousands displaced and squatting under the trees in open areas, there is a dire need for relief support like; food, shelter, and clothing to alleviate their suffering.
We are requesting the government and all international humanitarian organisations operating in Eastern Equatoria to step up their relief support to support our displaced people.
We also call upon all the Acholi people worldwide, especially those in diaspora and those living in the neighbouring country, Uganda, to come together and join hands to support their own people suffering in the displacement camps within Magwi areas.
We appreciate the effort of many Acholi groups who are mobilizing support through social media and other channels to ensure that our people are provided with much-needed relief support.
Using social media, many Acholi in the diaspora are carrying out a series of discussions and petitions to bring about lasting solutions to the affected population. You can support us by signing the Petition here. There is also a PayPal fundraising channel called “Acholi Roots Gives” to help support the affected families feeling the conflict. you can donate to support this cause by following the link here
Post by Opikom, a volunteer of the Acholi Luo Folklore team
Acholi-Luo Folk Culture 