Cattle keepers from Jonglei State have agreed to leave Western Equatoria State within 30 days under the implementation of the Rokon Consensus peace agreement, state officials and community representatives said, in a move aimed at ending years of conflict between pastoralists and farming communities.
The agreement was reached at a meeting in Mundri West County on Thursday attended by state government officials, county authorities, community leaders and representatives of the cattle camps to discuss the relocation process.
Akech Majok, a leader of the cattle camps in Western Equatoria, said the pastoralists had accepted the government’s directive and would return peacefully to Jonglei.
“We have met with the Western Equatoria State Government and agreed to return home. One month is a reasonable timeframe because one week is not enough to move all the cattle,” Majok said.
He said the cattle keepers were also facing disease outbreaks and water shortages and were looking for suitable areas where they could relocate their livestock after leaving Mundri.
Western Equatoria’s Minister of Local Government and Law Enforcement, Alison Barnaba, said all cattle camps must leave the state within the agreed one-month period.
Barnaba said the meeting reviewed implementation of the Rokon Consensus and noted progress in recovering cattle stolen during previous clashes.
However, he said authorities were still demanding the return of 22 head of cattle allegedly stolen and hidden in a cattle camp in Mundri West before the relocation process could be completed.
“We discussed the implementation of the Rokon Peace Consensus and have recorded some achievements. Some stolen cattle have already been recovered, and the Bor cattle keepers have accepted to relocate. The remaining 22 stolen cattle must be returned before the relocation is completed,” Barnaba said.
He said the government was not opposed to cattle keepers but was seeking to address the destruction of farmland, crop losses and insecurity caused by uncontrolled grazing.
“The problem is not the people themselves, but the cattle destroying farms and moving freely across Mundri. Everyone must respect the resolutions agreed under the Rokon Consensus,” he said.
The relocation forms part of the implementation of the Rokon Consensus, a peace agreement intended to end years of violence and disputes between cattle keepers and farming communities in Central and Western Equatoria.
Similar relocation orders have previously been issued by state and national authorities but were not fully implemented.
Mundri West County Commissioner Zelipha Dawa said county authorities had put measures in place to ensure the relocation was carried out peacefully.
She said security agencies, local leaders and community representatives would jointly supervise the exercise to prevent violence and protect both cattle keepers and local residents.
“Since we returned from the Rokon Peace Consensus meeting, no one has been killed. That is one of the positive outcomes of the agreement,” Dawa said.
She said investigations had identified 312 head of cattle stolen during previous attacks in Mundri East and Mundri communities. Twelve had been recovered, while 300 remained missing.
“We are providing security for both cattle keepers and farmers to prevent cattle theft, protect farms from destruction, and ensure there is no fighting between communities,” she said.
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