The ad-hoc committee recently formed by the Governor of Central Equatoria State to address the border dispute between South Sudan and Uganda said they met with Ugandan authorities and handed over 13 Ugandans and Uganda also handed over the chief of Bori Boma of Kajo-Keji County who had been arrested.

52-year-old, Ernesto Tumia, the chief of Bori Boma in Kajo-Keji County, was arrested on 8 September by Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) following a dispute over land along the border.

13 Ugandans were subsequently arrested by South Sudanese authorities in retaliation for the arrest of Chief Tumia. They were accused of carrying out illegal charcoal burning and farming activities in Bori Boma, Kajokeji County in South Sudan.

Speaking to the media after the meeting with Governor Emmanuel Adil on Wednesday, the head of the committee and Central Equatoria State Security Advisor, Angelo Daya, confirmed that on Monday, the Ugandan and South Sudan authorities exchanged the apprehended people.

“The governor sent us so to address the release of Chief Ernsto Tumia and the 13 Ugandans so that they go back and continue with their lives,” he said. “Indeed, our team went and met with the Resident District Commissioners (RDC) and Local Council 5 (LC5) chairman of Yumbe District in Uganda and their team and the meeting lasted two days and resulted in the release of Chief Ernsto Tumia and 13 Ugandans.”

According to Daya, the exchange of the arrested individuals took place at Afogi Border Point on Monday. He said the officials from the two countries agreed to initiate dialogue between the communities of Yumbe and Kajo-Keji to find an amicable solution to the border row.

“We also discussed issues of harmony among the two communities and agreed that the local communities, the elders, and the landlords should be brought together to dialogue,” Daya added.

However, according to Ugandan security forces, Chief Tumia has been entering Uganda, accompanied by South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) soldiers, to parcel out land and allocate it to South Sudanese nationals since 2021.

While addressing the press on Monday, Uganda Police Spokesperson Fred Enanga revealed that the release of the chief was part of a swap agreement between Ugandan authorities and their South Sudanese counterparts to release 13 Ugandans who were allegedly abducted by the South Sudanese authorities in Kochi sub county Yumbe district in retaliation for the arrest of Chief Ernesto Tumia of Bori Boma, for fuelling land conflicts.

Enanga said that apart from the previous incidents, on 9 September, Ernesto while in the company of the South Sudanese Army, brought with him more South Sudanese and gave them land, which led to his arrest by the UPDF.

In retaliation, the South Sudanese Army and authorities arrested 13 Ugandans and held them till September 14, when they were handed over at at Afogi border post, in Moyo district, to the Ugandan Authorities headed by the LCV Chairperson Yumbe district called Aseku Abdul Mutalibu, DISO Yumbe and among others.

In exchange, Ernesto Tumia was handed over through the Commandant OPM Bididi Refugee Camp, Nabugere Joel Michael, in liaison with South Sudan authorities.

Both Ugandan and South Sudan authorities conducted a joint meeting and emphasized peaceful co-existence as numerous measures were put in place by the joint security agencies to avert any infiltrations.