The Eastern Equatoria State parliament on Tuesday summoned three ministers, three Commissioners, and the Torit town mayor to shed light on the rampant insecurity in the state.
The ministers who were summoned included local government and law enforcement minister Peter Lokeng Lotone, information minister Patrick Oting Cyprian, and peacebuilding minister Marko Lochapio Lokidor. The three commissioners of Torit, Magwi, and Ikotos counties were also summoned along with Torit Municipal Council Mayor Joseph Aye Joseph Oswaha.
The chairperson of the information committee, Michael Kokol, said the officials were summoned to answer questions related to the proliferating insecurity in the state and that the lawmakers resolved that patrols by the organized forces be ethnically representative.
“Among the resolutions that have been made is that Jonglei cattle have to return to their place of origin and that the military forces patrolling towns of Eastern Equatoria State should be of mixed ethnic tribes,” he said. “In Magwi, we want soldiers to be added in Mugali Payam to help civilians there. There are also problems in Ikotos and we have formed a committee that will go and listen to people there about what caused conflict there because the commissioner accused politicians of being behind cattle raids and revenge killings.”
He said there was also a resolution to deploy soldiers in Loudo Payam in Budi County due to tensions over land and resources between the Toposa and Didinga.
However, Peter Lokeng Lotone, the minister of local government and law enforcement agencies, said that the security situation in the state is relatively calm and peaceful with the exception of Magwi, Torit, and Ikotos counties which have registered an influx of cattle and rustling.
“Today (Tuesday) is the second time that I am being called to come and give statements on the security situation in Eastern Equatoria State,” he said. “Generally, the state is relatively peaceful and calm except for alarming security threats caused by cattle influx and cattle raids particularly in Magwi and Torit County and Torit municipality, Nimule Town Council, and Ikotos County.”
Peacebuilding minister Lokidor Marko said he has not been able to tackle insecurity due to a lack of finances and transportation.
“We were unable to intervene in conflicts in the state because the ministry has not been allocated enough budget to run its activities according to the mandate and another issue is that the ministry has only a small Probox car which cannot go from here up to Kauto,” he said.
For his part, Torit County Commissioner Jacob Atari Albano admitted that there was a spike in insecurity and called for statewide disarmament.
The commissioner of Ikotos County, Lokolong Joseph, faulted politicians for arming civilians and inciting conflict among the communities.
“The insecurity in the county is all about raiding, cattle theft and robbery along roads and even killing,” he said. “The raiding that took place in Ikotos is backed up by politicians.”
Source: Radio Tamazuj