Commissioners from Lainya and Juba have cautioned politicians from the Mundari community against creating tensions.

The two commissioners made the remarks at the launch of the religious leaders’ Mundari Community peace and reconciliation program in Juba on Tuesday.

Lainya County Commissioner, Emmanuel Khamis, said the communal violence in Terekeka is caused by politicians from the same community who often incite it.

He said, “unless politicians stop inciting the population and perpetrators of violence in the community are identified and handed over to the government, [there will be no peace].”

 “You are one of the luckiest communities in Central Equatoria to have five living former governors. They are there, we have our father, Clement Wani Konga former governor from Terekeka, Juma Ali Malou is here, Jacob is here; he is a former governor, Augustino is a former governor, Ochan Ali and there are many politicians,” he said.

“If you have these people in your midst, apart from the ministers, advisors, and members of Parliament, and you don’t have peace among yourselves as a community; your leadership is questioned,” Khamis said.

 “Ask yourself what I am doing to have peace in my community. What am I doing that might have contributed to insecurity in my community. Otherwise, if we are blind and are unable to bring peace in our community, there will be no peace,” Khamis said.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Juba County, Charles Joseph Wani, said the Mundari intercommunal violence has resulted in losses for the people of Terekeka County and the Central Equatoria States as a whole.

He questioned the leaders’ inability to control the situation.

 “We cannot control our people when we are in the driver’s seat. This is not good in one way or another, we can ask ourselves if we are leaders and who we are leading. If we cannot control our people, which means we are not leaders starting from our family level,” Joseph stressed.

He condemned some politicians for creating community discord when they were removed from the government to fight for their own interests by talking ill about other communities.

 “This is how we develop the problems in our communities because we are not telling the real history to other people. We are inciting our people against the other families,” he asserted.

Joseph said funds set aside for development in Terekeka County had been utilised for holding conferences that did not produce constructive outcomes in the Mundari community’s conflict.

He said despite the series of conferences, they were yet to witness the fruits of such events.

“We need Central Equatoria as a state of peace and reconciliation; we need Central Equatoria as a state which is exemplary to other states because we are hosting the national government,” Joseph stressed.

“Play your politics, play your talents, but not with the blood of our people. Play it in your own interest, play it in your own way, but don’t involve these brothers of ours in killing each other. They are very important to us.”