CEPO’s Yakani welcomes investigation into Kajo-keji killings

JUBA, FEBRUARY 9^th 2023 (SUDANS POST) – South Sudan’s prominent activist Edmund Yakani has welcomed a decision by President Salva Kiir Mayardit in which he ordered security agencies to prove last week’s killings in Kajo-keji County of Central Equatoria state.

Just a day before Pope Francis arrived in a landmark visit to the country, elements from the National Salvation Front (NAS) led by General Thomas Cirilo attacked a cattle camp housing cattle of Bor community herders and killed at least six people.

The herdsmen responded, but by attacking innocent civilians in a village in Lire Payam killing twenty-one (21) civilians. The killing sparked public uproar with calls surging for the government to bring to an end what has become an alarming violence in Central Equatoria.

In a statement yesterday, the state-house J1 said President Salva Kiir Mayardit directed the law enforcement agencies to investigate the killing and bring the perpetrators to book in order to set a precedent for others.

In reaction, Yakani who is the executive director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) welcomed the decision of the president and described the proposed investigation as remarkable which he said should not be carried out in a manipulative manner.

“CEPO welcomes the decision made by the president on ensuring accountability and justice prevail on the injustice committed in Kajokeji county of Central Equatoria State. It is good demonstration of leadership and stand for respect of human rights. It is remarkable if it is executed genuinely and timely without any manipulation and delay as we have seen with previous similar decisions,” he said.

“The deadly violence at the states level is getting worse and commitment of injustice is getting as a normal practice. It is time for president to take responsibility of holding perpetrators of injustice accountable and face the due legal process in court of law,” he added.

The prominent activist further hailed the president for ordering probe into the killing and stressed that there is need for the government to bring the cattle owners into account because, according to him, they are causing havoc to farmers in the state.

“The positive response of president on our call for accountability for Kajokeji injustice is great but we wish president to ensure that the rightful owners of the cattle herders are held accountable too. Since they are effectively engaged in supplying the cattle herders with guns and ammunition’s for causing this rampant injustice across the country,” he said.

“The durable solution of the deadly violence between farmers and pastoralists in Equatoria region is the genuine implementation of the presidential decree on return of cattle and secondly designing a system for management of cattle migration in farmers communities through legal legislation,” he stressed.

Yakani further called on the president to commission and investigation into the root causes of the violence and highlighted that the violence is politically-motivated.

“CEPO is urging president to commission genuine investigation on factors that triggered this recent deadly communal violence. This deadly communal violence is politically motivated and may contributed strongly in working towards the down fall of the incumbent government,” he said.