The Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Yei, Rt. Rev. Levi Marandulu Yepete, over the weekend, said the continued presence of the Ambororo cattle herders in Yei River County’s Tore Payam in Central Equatoria State creates a threat to the local community.
The Ambororo (or Mbororo) are nomadic cattle-herding pastoralists from West and Central Africa (Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria, CAR) who traverse South Sudan, particularly Western Equatoria and Bahr el Ghazal states, searching for pasture. Often associated with the Falata, these foreign herdsmen frequently clash with local farmers over land usage and security, causing significant conflict.
Since the arrival of foreign herders with large herds in the area three years ago, the local population, largely crop farmers, has raised concerns about their crops and about insecurity.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Friday, Bishop Marandulu said the presence of the Ambororo in Tore Payam is a threat to the local community since they have a large number of cattle destroying farms.
“The presence of ambororo in Yei River County, particularly in Tore Payam, is a threat to our community in so many ways. First of all, you know these people move with very big herds of cattle, a very big number of animals, and they are destroying the environment and making it difficult for cultivation,” he explained. “Secondly, their animals destroy the farms of the community, and they destroy the beehives of our community members. Our people mainly depend on agriculture and beekeeping, and now, with the presence of the Ambororo, most of their beehives have been destroyed. This has created insecurity because people cannot harvest their honey.”
“These people (Ambororo) are also armed, and they scare traders who go from Yei to buy animals, and once they get someone in the bush, without any question, they just shoot them,” the bishop added.
He said the herders killed a man called Elias Lomut on 18 December 2025.
“Some businessmen from Yei went buy animals from the Ambororo, and it happened that this young man was also there in the bush. He was shot with three bullets and died instantly there in the bush,” the prelate stated. “Secondly, on 8 January, one man escaped after being shot at by the Ambororo in the bush, so all these are bad indications of threats to our people.”
Bishop Marandulu called on the county, state, and national governments to ask the Ambororo herders to leave the area.
For his part, Christopher Taharir, the information secretary of the Tore Payam Youth Coordination Office in Yei, said the presence of the Ambororo has led to environmental degradation and destruction of natural resources. He urged them to leave peacefully.
“The issue of the Ambororo is indeed becoming a threat in our land. On a recent visit to Tore, I found a lot of issues raised by our people on the ground, with the locals saying the Ambororo are destroying farms, beehives, and small streams, resulting in environmental degradation. In previous years, the state and county authorities ordered the Ambororo to leave in vain,” he said. Tore Payam is very diverse in natural resources like honey, land, underground minerals, water bodies, which are suitable for socio-economic activities, which enhance local sustainability, but not for grazing.”
“We as a community are asking the Ambororo to leave our land peacefully without causing any harm,” Taharir added.
Efforts to reach the county commissioner for comment were futile.