Herders at Robe cattle camp in the outskirts of Juba are expressing shock over rampant sudden disappearance of cattle in the hands of perceived unidentified butchers.
The occupants of the camp say their cattle get stolen and slaughtered in the remote location of the camp and that after a long trace, they only find unwanted remnants of their cattle.
“Most of the issues that we face have been resolved. However, the government really needs to know that some people here in the bush still steal our cows and slaughter them in the bush,” Chief Simon Kuac Luko said during the Terekeka county commissioner and the Impact Response Committee’s visit to Robe cattle keepers at the cattle camp on Monday last week.
Luko said that they agreed about the peace and they have really changed except that some of the cattle have not been returned.
“We took back the cows that we stole, now why is it that our cows have not been returned. My big cows where returned but our big cows remained behind now what is going to happen? How are we going to be meeting the people who are having our cows, knowing they are still having them, what should we say?” He questioned.
He urged the government to be vigilant about the unfinished work at the cattle camps in order to avoid fighting among themselves as the cattle keepers.
Chief Wani Mach from Kopura said he wishes the government fulfil what Luko said because they have not received their cows.
“The conflict we had was caused by the issue of cattle theft, most of our cows are still missing up to now what should we do? We should tell the truth and the way forward,” he asserted.
Peace back
Joseph Laku, a cattle keeper from Kunda said he agrees that there is peace among themselves and appreciates the committee for the work they are doing because there is a very big difference between the time they signed the peace agreement in Terekeka county.
“Now we are even staying well with the Kupora people and we don’t have any problems and we are peaceful. However, the truth is that what the government is asking about, the issue of cattle raiding is still going on.
“The problem we have now is the challenge of the people who go searching for their stolen or lost cattle in other camps, people get so aggravated with us and that is the biggest fear we have,” Laku explained.
Laku said he received a phone from one of the cattle camps informing him about his 34 stolen cows. To his surprise, he said, they found out that the cows were more than the stated number.
“We even found some of them cutting off the bells that we had tied on the cows’ neck and the ropes out of the cows’ neck. That wouldn’t be a problem but when we asked to search for our cows within that camp, the residents started quarrelling and stopping us from checking our missing cows,” he said.
“So what is making other people wanting to start fight again is because of the issue of other people having our cows at their camps and not accepting us to check or even for us to take our cows,” Laku explained.
Their visit was a follow up of the programme to bring peace among the cattle keepers in Terekeka County after the committee established that some of the cattle keepers were contemplating violence to avoid ejection due to planting season.
Three months ago, the Impact Response Committee and the traditional leaders of Terekeka County signed a peace agreement to stop conflict within the county. At them time, violent raids became rampant and had barred cattle keepers from returning to their homes.
Terekeka County Commissioner James Lino Malou also explained that another meeting at Dembesh Hotel in Juba resolved that all the cattle keepers should return to their places of origin and stolen cattle taken back to their owners.
The commissioner guaranteed to work together with Robe cattle keepers and all the others in order for the government to address challenges that they do face.
He agreed that he was aware about the illegality of the underground slaughtering houses in the bush on the outskirts of Juba.
“I am requesting you the cattle keepers to report immediately any issue of cattle that are being slaughtered in different private areas,” he said.
The commissioner promised to take stern measures against such practices and that he would inform the higher authority.
“I am going to speak to the government and the mayor so that they can abolish all unlawful slaughter houses around Juba,” he said.
The commissioner also added that, there were some isolated cases of cattle theft which are being reported along the roads.
“I am asking whoever took cattle from his brother to return them immediately because such behaviours need to be stopped,” he said.
He stressed that since they had already signed for peace, that should remain the key among the community so as to realize permanent peace.
Malou advised the cattle keepers to talk to the young children who go grazing to avoid waging issues that may amount to conflict.
He urged the Mundari cattle keepers to return to Terekeka so as to respect the Dembesh hotel conference meeting where all cattle keepers were asked to return to their areas of origin.
Chairperson of Impact Response Committee, Philip Jembeke Ladu, has revealed that they are already forging a new mechanism so as to recover the raided cattle in places that they had not reached due to some security uncertainties.