By Staff Writer
Urgent intervention is needed from both the National and State governments including the community organizations whose people are trapped in a chaotic recurring circle of armed cattle atrocities against unarmed civilians to avoid eminent bloody inter-communal violence as marginalized communities are running out of patience with the government’s passive response to armed herders’ crimes and mistreatment of vulnerable unarmed civilian farmers.
Farming communities in the Equatoria region whose gardens have reportedly been purposely destroyed by cattle feel marginalized and neglected by the government as the armed herders mainly from Bor roam freely with sophisticated weapons at the watch of authorities who couldn’t hold them accountable for atrocities they commit against farmers being murdered in cold blood.
The recent herders’ atrocities that left eight locals murdered in Ngerjebe of Lokiliri Payam in Juba County which is not the first incident of its kind has angered the community there making them to think of the bad culture of revenge which isn’t a common practice in the area.
The Chief of Ngerjebe Boma of Lokiliri Payam, Biastori Modi Modesto, angered by the recurring killing of his people in cold blood has been compelled to utter bitter words.
Modesto said he is ready to sell a mountain so that he can acquire guns to retaliate for the lives lost in cold blood by armed cattle herders.
Chief Modesto pointed that it’s sad that the government watched civilians armed as cattle herders freely loiter without government interceding on the matter.
“Government, I will sell one mountain away and buy with guns. I will buy guns so that I will avenge for my people,” he said. “These people and their guns pass from the presence of the government and the government is silent,” he added.
He cited that cases of other civilians found with arms are sometimes taken as rebels which calls for the attention of the government yet a case of another civilian who is a herder and armed is seen as a normal act.
“If you catch our people on the roads with a gun, you say they are rebels,” he cited.
The Ngerjebe Boma chief underlined that the act of other civilians being allowed to be armed while others are not only making one community vulnerable to the other hence cases of the deaths like that in his community.
From Nesitu to Aru, “you people will see people walking with guns because you just look at others walking with guns and yet you do nothing”. “My civilians do not have guns,” he said.
“It’s a must for me to sell one mountain out and I will purchase guns. God will give me a person who will buy the mountain because I do not have money. I will not buy the guns against the government but against those civilians who are armed and killing my civilians and destroying their crops,” he lamented.
He said the only way for his people to stay back in their villages is by owning guns if the government cannot disarm the herders and take them back to their place of origin.
“If you think that guns are bad, disarm these civilians (cattle herders) because civilians cannot take care of guns but if you do not take away the guns, any of these civilians will take up a gun so that they own their rights as the owners of the land” Modesto lamented.
Santos Pio, the Auxiliary Bishop of Catholic Archdiocese of Juba said the act of other civilians killing each other is a shame to the country.
Santos was preaching during the funeral prayers of the 8 murdered people in Lokiliri Payam of Juba County.
He said the government has continued to lie to the people of brining culprits of such acts (killings) to book despite the recurrence.
“Every time this kind of act happens, the people from the government say they will be bringing the culprits to book, where is the book” he questioned.
Bishop worried that the incident is not soon to stop citing the previous incident where 6 were killed in the same county.
“I have seen that we are joking with the people, with the country and with ourselves” he continued. “A herder is seen in uniform with different types of guns loitering free beside the road” he said.
“If this country has accepted chaos that everybody should own a gun, we want it to be made clear so that we all own guns” he queried.
He warned the government to take the issue serious as this could bring in unending chaos and make hell break loose if the civilians in other peaceful communities who are always victims become angry.
“Acts that happen slowly like this in your watch support chaos and encourages rebellion” he underlined.
Bishop Santo said the act is bound to continue if the culprits are not taken into book.
“These people are organized if they are coming in to kill people like this and will be left. These people if they are left like this, will continue killing people, they are against the country” he submitted.
Bishop Santo said it is the work of the military to have ownership of guns and not civilians, adding that “the act is a great shame if civilians are killed like goats”.