By Bida Elly David
The vice president and chair of the economic cluster Dr. James Wani Igga said that South Sudan security situation will face dangerous consequences in the hands of armed civilians if comprehensive disarmament exercise is not carried to stop attacks and inter-communal violence.
This development came during a peace trip to Rejaf Payam of Juba County initiated by the government of Central Equatoria. Vice President Dr. Igga was hosted as the patron of the day.
Speaking during the event VP Igga in his keynote remarks said South Sudanese are humans with complicated courage fearing no death of whatever kind noting that the disarmament exercise would mitigate the insecurity in the country.
He warned citizens against blaming the current regime over failures to quell the on-going insecurity across the Country saying that South Sudan is not a paradise bearing total peace but can only mitigate conflict through dialogue among conflicting parties.
He said conflict is a phenomenon that cannot be completely eliminated from happening rather it is a passive activity that can only be minimized if people believe peace is genuine.
“It is true that conflict is everywhere in South Sudan. We can only bring peace if armed civilians are disarmed,” he said.
“The availability of arms in the hands of civilians has become the total cause of insecurity across the Country. It has made them not even to fear the authority instead waging attacks against themselves,” he added.
Dr. Igga further termed armed civilians as weak and cowardice people using guns to forcefully humiliate only poor people who don’t deserve to be treated with hostility and aggressiveness.
“Why do they use guns instead of using their hands for physical fight to test the level of courage they have. Those armed groups especially the cattle herders are defeated folks with no clear target at all. We will handle them in a tactical manner,” he said.
VP Igga slammed citizens against hopes of total security jeopardy amid weakness of the authority noting that the authority is working towards bringing complete amity to the Country.
“Those who say there will be no peace are lying to themselves. We as a government are determined in our goals and soon peace will prevail in South Sudan and things will not be worse as they have been. And those praying for war shall not succeed,” he echoed.
Dr. Igga commended Governor Emmanuel Adil for the peace initiatives being carried and called on the citizens of Rejaf Payam to embrace peace among them and focus on promoting agricultural activities to fight food insecurity.
On his part, Central Equatoria State, governor Emmanuel Adil Anthony promised the community of Rejaf that he will continue initiating peace rallies in his state to ensure that citizens in the state encounter peace, not war again.
He said that the continuous threats by armed civilians especially cattle herders against communities has started reducing through the security efforts made by the state authority.
Adil promised to start carrying out disarmament exercise in Central Equatoria State in efforts to eliminate presence of guns from civilians’ hands that cause insecurity.
He also vowed to fish out the group of armed criminals causing insecurity all over the state saying that they will have to face the law with immediate effect.
Governor Adil further pledged to boost education and health sector in Rejaf community of Juba County being a ticket of peace calling them to shun conflict among themselves.