WES state authorities determined to eject Ambororo pastoralists

October 20, 2008 (YAMBIO) – The governor of Western Equatoria summoned a meeting last weekend to discuss the fate of Ambororo pastoralists, who pass through Western Equatoria (WES) to graze their cattle but have tense relations with local people and have been ordered to leave.

Ambororo move with their cattle through areas including Bahr el Ghazal, Central and Western Equatoria. They are popularly viewed as threatening outsiders, and are said to come from as far as Darfur, Congo, Chad, Niger or Mali. Many in Western Equatoria believe that the Ambororo are northern Sudanese, and local populations say that their presence is a plot from the Khartoum regime to bring another Janjaweed, a type of Arab militia in Darfur.

Some vulnerable populations of Ambororo were resettled to Juba and then Unity State last year and early this year with the help of the Southern Sudan government and migration organizations.

One week ago, Ambororo gunned down a Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) spying officer, who had been sent to monitor the Ambororo movement out of WES territories.

Western Equatoria Governor Jemma Nunu Kumba summoned a meeting of chiefs, community leaders, youth, church leaders, heads of organized armed forces—including the SPLA—and a good number of political heavyweights. In a tense lengthy debate, all the participants pledged to respect a state order of expulsion. All the stakeholders agreed that Ambororo should leave the state’s territories.

Governor Kumba said that the presence of Ambororo has degraded forests and the eco-systems of WES, causing mounting tension with the local population. Kumba referred to the Ambororo as “enemies of peace.”

The meeting resolved that all cattle dealers in WES should buy cows from Bahr el Ghazal and Central Equatoria states. The decision generated bitter anxieties among local traders citing fear of buying cattle in Bahr el Ghazal. They argue that if they trade with Bahr el Ghazal, rival cattle keepers will attack them.

The state now prohibits cattle trade with Ambororo, threatening to prosecute or confiscate firearms and cattle from traders who keep cattle bought from the Ambororo.

The governor and her officials believe that these measures will boost trade between WES and Bahr el Ghazal and Central Equatoria States, and peaceful co-existence of Sudanese business communities.

Illegal trade in cattle purchases from Ambororo is on the increase despite earlier orders banning local traders and butchers from dealing with Ambororo, since this practice would encourage the pastoralists to stay in WES.

In pursuance of the state order passed early July this year, the state has confiscated a good number of cows from local boys who had ignored the order and went ahead to bring cows from neighboring Congo purchased from Ambororo. The government action generated stiff opposition from the local cattle dealers, who said their government was letting them down.

Pastoralists and farmers in WES fought a bitter and deadly tribal war in late 2005, a few months after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the SPLA and the northern government.

Given local concerns that the Ambororo could contribute to the insecurity of the state, this recent move under the leadership of the energetic female governor of WES represents an effort to keep the Ambororo from settling permanently in WES.

The governor has demonstrated skill at conciliations and consensus-building of WES communities. “We have tremendous confidence in her intellectual rigor, her moral compass and her ability to make sound, thoughtful, careful decisions,” said one chief from Bangasu Payam who attended the meeting.

The church and community leaders will play a leading role in sensitizing communities and enhancing the message to stop illegal trade with Ambororo.

(ST)