From Adia Jildo, in Juba
The commissioner of Lainya County, Emmanuel Khamis has called on the government of both state and national to help trace and expose owners of cattle roaming in farm land destroying crops and causing insecurity in the county.
Heavy and illegal influx of cattle and their herders in Lainya County created tension between farmers and herders after cattle destroyed crops in the county and subjected many to displacements and looting of properties.
“The issue is not the people who are driving the cattle camps around, but for us to be able to bring this to an end, government must track and look for the owners, the real owners of these cattle,” Khamis told Citizenship Daily adding there is need to prosecute the owners of the cattle if they do not comply to eviction orders.
A presidential order in 2017 ordered for immediate evacuation of all roaming cattle in the greater Equatoria region to return to their areas, though the order has been violated several times.
“We will not compromise and insubordinate the order of the President that cattle keepers return to their areas of origin. We will continue enforcing law and order to ensure that these cattle keepers comply,” he stated.
The commissioner released 22 leaders of different cattle camps on Monday after they agreed to leave the county and never to return with their cattle following their arrest.
“We gave them clear indicators that if they will reappear again, then they will be arrested and prosecuted because our areas are purely inhabited by farmers, people are engaging in agriculture.”
Khamis confirmed to Citizenship Daily that over 90 percent of the cattle herders had vacated the land. Security personnels have been put in place to patrol the county to enable a full evacuation of the herders and their cattle.
