By Taban Gabriel
King News 22nd Sept 2024 – The Executive chief of Mangala Payam in Juba County Central Equatoria State said the presence of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Jonglei State has caused an upsurge in insecurity in the area
Speaking during a security meeting chaired by Central Equatoria State Security Advisor at Mangala Payam headquarters on Thursday, Chief Zakeo Lege said most of the inhabitants of the Payam have been displaced as a result of “incursion by IDPs”.
“The security situation is bad. There is no rest for my people in my Boma of Mangkaro; until now, they have all been displaced. Some have crossed the river to the side of Jebel Lado, and others have moved here to Mangala Town; all the areas have been occupied by IDPs, and IDPs are now in charge of their areas. These are the issues affecting us in Mangala or Mangkaro Boma. It pains a lot,” Lege said
Chief Lege accused the IDPs of betraying “the hospitality accorded to them when they were displaced by flood.”
“You are the owner of the house and a stranger you warmly welcome and rendered a space to settle in, later turn wild and force you out of your own ancestral land where you were given birth in, these are the things that have upset us in Mangkaro Boma” he added
Lege pointed out that efforts to return the IDPs of Mangala to their ancestral land in the past, were met with a deterrent impasse by “some of the Jonglei IDPs”
“Some said, we have not forced you out of your land come back, we said fine, we will come back. But the moment a person makes an attempt to come out from the river side, he will be shot at. Now is there really peace among us, definitely there is no peace among us” he exclaimed.
The Executive chief called on the State government to address the issue of insecurity in Mangala to pave the way for the return of IDPs to “their ancestral land.”
While responding to the accusations, Chau Jok the chief of Jonglei IDPs, contested all the assertions by the executive chief of Mangala Payam.
Chief Chau said his community has lived peacefully with the host community and attributed insecurity in the area to “unknown armed men”.
Chau said the presence of IDPs from Jonglei helped restore peace in Mangala Payam between two host communities.
“When we came here, we didn’t come on our own from there; we came because of the issue of flood displacement based on the agreement between Central Equatoria and Jonglei State; we didn’t come by force. We got the people of Bari and Mundari were engulfed in a fight. The Bari community had evacuated themselves far from here, and when we came in their midst, that was when the Bari community came back here, and we have been with them all these while,” he said
Chief of IDPs in Mangala, Chau Jok (Photo Credit: Taban Gabriel King News)
The IDP’s representative said his community will settle back to Jonglei once the flooding situation returns to normal.
“We are saying the land belongs to Central Equatoria; we don’t own a land here. What forces us from there is flood if the flood stops, we will still go back to our land”
Chau further refuted claims that his community was involved in sporadic insecurities in Mangala Payam
“What our brothers are saying that we are the one killing people, we are not killing people. There is security and when we came here securities were brought and the huts you see here are theirs, they are joint forces, how can you claim that there is insecurity yet we have these people here” he said
Chau encourages the host communities to stop pointing fingers at others but should sort better solutions to the insecurity predicament in the area.
“When two of our people were killed in that place call arial, we did not say it’s Bari or Mundari community who committed it. And if we are to count the number of our people killed here, they are more than 15, including those who die in the bush, we don’t blame them on Bari or Mundari” he stated.
The Minister of Local Government for Central Equatoria State, Leon Abe Brown, encouraged both the host communities and IDPs to embrace peace among themselves.
“And we have called you as a family, as our people, such that you vomit the bad things out, let the win blew it there, so that love will reign, and people will have understandings and people should have respect for each other” the Minister said
Minister of Local Government Central Equatoria State. (Photo Credit: Taban Gabriel, King News)
Minister Abe said the government of Central Equatoria State will ensure promotion of peaceful coexistence among the population in the state.
The Advisor for Peace and Security for Central Equatoria State Angelo Daya Lodu advised the head of the organized forces in Mangala to safeguard citizens of the payam against external attacks.
“Mangala has six kilometers; from the direction of Juba, six kilometers, on the direction of Jemeza, six Kilometers, to the river side six kilometers and to the desert, six kilometers, this is the area that the head of security is in charge of. A distance of 6km square, Mangala is under your responsibility. Any body from Juba who enters here will know that this is a different place” Angelo said.
Peace and Security advisor for Central Equatoria State. (Phot Credit: Taban Gabriel, king News)
Mangala Payam is a strategic town along the highway heading to Jonglei State, contested by two counties (Juba and Terkeka) of Central Equatoria State with both sides claiming the jurisdiction of the area.
In order to quell speculations by affiliates of both counties, the Payam has been accorded a status of ‘an administrative payam’ making it to stand alone.