MOROBO — Governor of South Sudan’s Central Equatoria State, Gen. Augustino Jadalla Kamilo Wani, on Wednesday urged the youth of Morobo County to replace guns with pens in a bid to restore peace and stability in the area.
Jadalla made this call at a rally held in Morobo County on Wednesday following last week’s clashes between forces of the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO).
The violence uprooted over 8,900 women, children, and elderly people from their homes.
Addressing thousands of displaced persons in Morobo town on Wednesday, Governor Jadalla urged area youth to pick up agricultural tools instead of guns to enhance food production in the state.
“We are a democratic country; you should join these political parties rather than picking up arms against your own people and the government. You pick up a hoe and a pen,” Jadalla said.
He emphasized the importance of replacing guns with hoes and pistols with pens.
“Build yourself instead of destroying your life, talk to your children, let them stop fighting and return to school, and let them not be people who are useless to society.”
He urged parents to engage with their children to stop rebellion and return home to rebuild their lives.
“For this violence to stop, we should talk to our children in the SPLA-IO, let them hear your voices; they should stop burning their own houses, and they should bring the violence of other people to their home,” he said.
“You shouldn’t go after people you don’t know their whereabouts; defend yourself and rebuild your life. Build yourself so that you can become a responsible person.”
He urged the residents of Morobo County to embrace peace to foster development.
“We as citizens, peace is very important within our society; you talk to those children in the National Salvation Front or SPLA-IO to drop their guns.”
For his part, Charles Data Bullen, Commissioner of Morobo County, claimed that the SPLA-IO’s presence in Panyume over the past eight years posed serious challenges in the county.
“There is indication that the IO remnants are still dwelling within the territory of Morobo, which is why I call for heavy deployment of SSPDF forces in the vacated positions formerly occupied by the IOs in order to allow our people to return to their homes,” said Data.
Data accused the SPLA-IO forces of engaging in logging of trees, looting, unlawful arrests, and restricting movement for people and aid workers.
“Most of our people in Morobo who had returned home from the camps were forced to leave their homes and the properties to seek safety in the nearest places possible. Some of them have gone so far as to cross the border to Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, while thousands have been displaced internally.”
