By Yang Ater Yang
Rumbek Central County authority in Lakes State has on Monday, arrested three cattle herders for grazing animals in farms in Mayom Payam.
The county Commissioner, Dut Manak Akuot says the three will be tried in accordance to Public Order Act 2022 under Section 25 and the customary law.
According to the customary law, when you intentionally drive cattle into someone’s farm, you are liable to spend one year in prison without bail.
Manak stated that he went himself with forces to force the Gelwong youth back to their area, where they were keeping their cattle.
“I would like to advise and give an order to all Payams and Boma administrators that there is no compromise at all on the use of animals on the farm. This is an order and should be observed seriously,’ he noted.
Manak stressed that the movement of cattle into farmland is becoming a problem in Rumbek between the farmers and the pastoralists.
“As a government, we stand with the farmers to protect their farm’s crops to make sure that they are not destroyed,” he said,
“One way is that we have our legislators that have a document of customary law and public order act.”
Last year, the Lakes State Transitional Legislative Assembly passed a bill, Public Order Act 2022, signed by Governor Rin Tueny to address customary and cattle issues.
Chapter 4; Section 25 of the act states that whoever intentionally drives cattle into a farm has the intention of provoking the crisis, and with that, she or he has committed an offense, and this offense will let him be sentenced to a period or term of one-year imprisonment without bail.
The commissioner emphasized that the law prohibiting random movements of cattle, goats, and even ships is very clear, adding that they want to make sure the local laws are not just kept in drawers but implemented.
Manak reiterated that, as the government, they will not tolerate any breach of the law.