Political leaders from Tombura County of Western Equatoria have urged the two communities in the area to stop fighting and work together to end the strife that tore them apart last year.
The Western Equatoria State Minister of Trade, Ukelo Eddy, said it is time for the violence in Tombura to be addressed from the ground up, beginning with the community and politicians.
Ukelo Eddy, who was delegated by Governor Alfred Futuyo Karaba made the call during a prayer for peace organised by the community of Zande and Balanda in Wau.
He said land ownership, positions and responsibility sharing, as well as social service delivery, are some of the core causes of conflict in Tombura. He blamed the politicians for taking advantage of the volatile situation to fan violence.
“In the state, we have books. We have written about what has happened. We documented all what happened in Tombura with evidence, dates and everything”.
“We who are from Tombura have too many accusations. Good enough, honourable Bakosoro, the national Minister is here, another conflict in Tombura will not occur. Our people in Tombura are there, but the devil did his will. “
Eddy informed the communities of Tombura in Wau that a committee for peace and reconciliation has already been constituted in the state, consisting of church leaders and the United Nations, to address the issue.
Praises them
He praised the Tombura community in Western Bahr El Ghazal State for organising the peace prayer and urged them to keep the spirit alive in order to restore peaceful coexistence between the two ethnic groups in the area.
He said: “Not all the Zande in Tombura do not like Balanda, and also the Balanda in Tombura do not like the Zande.” That is a lie. It is the people who want that position that caused the conflict. It is impossible for all Zande and Balande to be chiefs, and not all Balande or Zande will be ministers or commissioners. “.
“These are politicians. What is the truth?” When you fail, you run to your tribe for support in order to succeed. This is what happened in Tombura”.
of Western Bahr El Ghazal State Governor, Sarah Cleto urged the Tombura community to pray for peace and to imitate what they asked for in the prayer in order to achieve peace, emphasising that “life is what you make it,” and that peace does not only mean the absence of war and hatred. But it also means that cooperation, compassion, and justice are present everywhere.
“The greatest thing in life is internal peace, external peace, and global peace. Peace is the key ingredient for happiness. Inner peace needs outer peace. Let us be the change we wish to see in the world and peace starts with each one of us from within. A change in perception leads to a change in attitude, which leads to a change in behaviour, which also leads to a change in our country,” Cleto said.
Governor Futuyo accused some local politicians of inciting the conflict in Tombura, claiming that the conflict was started by local politicians out of greed for power.
“The bible says many are called and few are chosen. With us, the politicians, it is also the same. There are many politicians out there who are not good, and there are those who are bad. Our conflict in Tombura was with the bad politicians, and you know them very well. So not all of us are bad, but there are some of us who are good, and this will not resolve conflict,’’ Said Bakosoro.
He proceeded to say: “The beginning of conflict is different, and the end of it is also different. Better denounce fighting because people did not understand, but now we understand. I said fighting is not good. You can start a fight even now just with one bullet and this is the beginning of fighting but for you to stop bullet the next day.”