Jonglei pastoralists leave Central Equatoria’s Kajo-keji after recent order

JUBA – Cattle keepers from South Sudan’s restive Jonglei state have started leaving Central Equatoria state’s Kajo-Keji county a week after being ordered by state authorities to repatriate their cattle to their places of origin within 7 days.

“Cattle Keepers have started relocating from Logu, Bekat and Godoru heading towards Juba,” Chairperson of Kajo-Keji Youth Association Mr. Anyik Chaplain Mogga said.

A Member of Parliament representing Kajo-Keji in the Transitional National Legislative Assembly, Wilson Lodiong Sebit, said reports from Kajo-Keji County indicate that cattle herders had reached Gbör Tapeng Village heading to Juba as they move back to Jonglei and Terekeka.

The annual migration of pastoralists across South Sudan has traditionally created tension between cattle herders and local farmers as they battle for access to scarce resources during the dry season.

For more than two decades, pastoralists from the Jonglei region have migrated with their cattle to parts of the Equatoria region.

However, recent trends show herders are increasingly moving into areas of Kajo-Keji, using farmland as grazing fields which heightens tension between farmers and herders.

The local authorities in Kajo-Keji also accused herders of committing crimes such as killing, raping and stealing cattle of indigenous.