By Charles K Mark
Central Equatoria State Government has dispatched a special force to quell the Jebel Lado Payam, Juba County, land crisis triggered by notorious land grabbers.
This deployment was resolved after a State Security Committee meeting convened on Wednesday morning at the State Secretariat.
The governor’s office stated that the committee is set to deal with any group indulging in the land crisis.
“The committee warned any group indulging in the menace to immediately cease or face the full force of the law accordingly,” a statement on the governor’s page partly read.
A recent crackdown on land criminals saw over forty people arrested in Jebel Lado Payam, Juba County, for reportedly trying to grab land illegally and forcefully.
At least thirteen individuals out of the stated number, including SSPDF officers, got sentenced to two months in prison and fined 250,000 SSP each for land grabbing and malicious damage.
This followed protests from the Chiefs of Molobor Boma of Jebel Lado Payam, Juba County, who reported displacement of over 3,000 households as the alleged grabbers terrorized the area.
The local authorities complained about the governor’s inability to take serious note of their discrepancies in land disputes.
The area chiefs summoned the then-county commissioner, Charles Joseph Wani, to witness the situation.
The chiefs said they reported the atrocities to all relevant authorities, including the governor of Central Equatoria State, but found no solution.
“They gunned us, the governor did not come, they burned our houses, and he still did not appear. Is this governor for the people or for the land grabbers?” the chiefs queried.
The names of some powerful generals were mentioned by the former Juba County Commissioner, Joseph Charles Wani, for allegedly getting involved in grabbing land in the county.
No response so far has been issued on whether to investigate the allegations or hold individuals accountable over the matter.
Juba County authorities demolished structures erected on illegally demarcated land in Jebel Ladu Payam in a fight against grabbers.
But the vice remains active as the state authority forms a committee to quell the deadly situation.