South Sudan demands ancestral land from Uganda

December 14, 2009 (KAJO-KEJI) — Muki Batali Bulli, the Commissioner of Kajo-Keji County, South Sudan demands ancestral land that Uganda has “extended ownership claims.”

The meeting convened in Moyo last week to discuss the border dispute between Uganda and South Sudan’s Kajo-Keji County turned chaotic after the Uganda team dismissed Sudanese’s claiming of more areas of Moyo and Yumbe districts.

In the 17-paged report presented by the Kajo Keji commissioner, Muki Batali Bulli, the Sudanese community of Kuku did not only claim “ancestral” ownership of the 5km-stretch of land that has been at the centre of the conflict but also other areas in Moyo and Yumbe.

The meeting chaired by the Ugandan international affairs state minister, Henry Okello Oryem, at Multipurpose Hall in Moyo town on Saturday, was attended by political leaders and elders from both countries including South Sudan Central Equatoria State Gov. Clement Wani Konga.

Among the fresh claims, the Sudanese said their land extends to Kelenderia through Opiro, an area in the heart of Moyo town behind Moyo senior secondary school.

Muki said the area continues westward to West Eria hill, Lefori and down to Wano, all places in Moyo that have previously been free of controversy. Other areas claimed in the document include Dwani wano, Goburi land, Bori, Liwolo, Koriwa and several hills and streams.

In Kampala, the Ugandan State Minister for Regional Cooperation, Okello Oryem, confirmed the meeting saying South Sudanese officials demanded a 5 km (3 miles) portion of Ugandan land at a meeting on December 12.

“It’s true the Sudanese claimed ownership of a bigger chunk of land but of course we have colonial maps and other documents that clearly state where the border lies and I’m confident we’ll reach an agreement when we meet in January,” he told Reuters.

On the site where the construction of an MTN mast was halted, Muki said the area was called Koturume and lies in the land of the Lito’ba clan from Sudan.

According to Muki, they stopped the construction of the Afoji-Lere road by Moyo district because it passes through Dwani Wano, an area, he said, was occupied by Ugandan refugees following the outbreak of the 1979 war.

“We received you warmly and allowed you to settle. Now the local authorities in Moyo have extended claim over Dwani Wano. The land is undoubtedly Kuku land,” Muki said.

Moyo LC5 chairman Peter Iku Dolo, however, insisted that the road was four miles inside Uganda.

But Muki further explained that according to their grandfathers, Moyo was not a Madi name but was derived from an Arabic word for water when an Arab soldier of Sudanese descent sought water from a Madi citizen behind the present Stanbic Bank building in Moyo town.

He accused the Moyo and Yumbe district authorities of carrying out organised settlements of Ugandans in Sudan with the intention of grabbing their territory.

The settlements are reportedly located at Go’bor for people from Yumbe and the stretch from Dwani, A’baya to Bamurye for settlers from Moyo.

He said the settlers were engaging in illicit tree logging and charcoal burning, which was hazardous to the environment.

Muki also accused the Ugandan People’s Defence Forces of killing civilians in Ajio Boma in 2000.

“Properties were destroyed and looted. The attack was launched without any provocation or justification at all,” he added.

But army spokesman Felix Kulayigye dismissed the allegation as baseless. “I am not aware of that attack,” he said.

Muki said Yumbe authorities recently evicted people of Liwolo in a place called Kilaji, and razed down their dwellings.

He also disclosed that in Moijo, Ugandans took over the vacant land when the indigenous people were evacuated by the British colonial administration in 1916 following an outbreak of sleeping sickness.

The new array of accusations infuriated the Ugandan delegates led by officials from Moyo, Adjumani, Yumbe and Koboko, who dispelled Muki’s report as “rubbish and null and void”.

They protested, raising their hands up while shouting Muki down. “That is misinformation, let him sit down,” they chorused.

They also lashed out at the Sudanese team for basing their arguments on the ancestral territories which were annulled by the international borders. Sensing trouble, Oryem adjourned the meeting for 30 minutes to allow further consultations.

Oryem said the Sudanese were claiming customary land boundaries which were no longer internationally recognized. He further said most of the tribes in northern and eastern Uganda and western Kenya have their origin in Sudan.

However, a Sudanese Member of Parliament, James Janka Duku, opposed Oryem, saying the international boundaries were made by the colonialists.

“We cannot take advantage of the colonial era to take somebody’s God-given land,” he said.

Duku suggested that the road and MTN mast be stopped despite a standing agreement between President Yoweri Museveni and his South Sudanese counterpart, Salva Kiir, to resume the construction.

However, the Governor for Central Equatorial State, Clement Wani, observed that the two infrastructures would foster development for all people regardless of the boundaries.

The meeting that started at 10:00am and ended past 11:00pm, resolved that the border conflict be handled by Kampala and Khartoum, while a technical committee from the two countries was formed to evaluate the economic progress along the border.

Another meeting was scheduled for January 16, 2010 in Moyo to review the progress of the committee.

None of the MPs from Moyo, Adjumani, Yumbe and Koboko districts attended the meeting.

On a tour of the conflict area with President Museveni last month, President Salva Kiir assured the people of Uganda that Sudan had no ambition to annex any Ugandan land. He said any misunderstanding should not be politicized but resolved administratively.

“If there is a misunderstanding, it will not be of any interest to anybody because trade is today thriving through the border. In Juba, Ugandan products dominate the market; so beneficiaries are both Southern Sudanese and Ugandans,” he observed.

(ST)