Kiir directs Makuei’s deputy to end child abduction, cattle raids in Pibor

JUBA – South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit has directed the newly appointed Deputy Minister of Information, Technology, and Postal Services, Dr. Jacob Mayaiju Baba Korok to end child abduction and cattle raiding in Pibor Administrative Area.

Kiir made this directive during the swearing-in ceremony of Dr. Jacob Mayaiju Baba Korok at J-1 on Wednesday which was administered by Justice Ayak Der Kom Awan.

Cattle raiding are a longstanding practice among pastoralists in South Sudan; it was historically governed by cultural authorities and ritual prohibitions.

The vast and swampy territory of Jonglei is shared by several ethnic groups mainly Bor Dinka, the Lou Nuer, and Murle who clashed during the past over cattle, water, and pasturage.

President Kiir directed Deputy Information Minister, Dr. Jacob Mayaiju Baba to unite the Murle community and enlighten the youth to stop cattle raiding and child abduction for the stability of the area.

“First you need to rise above all the challenges that are facing the people of Pibor so that you can overcome all the differences of the people there,” Kiir said during the swearing-in ceremony yesterday in the state house in Juba.

He told Dr. Jacob to join hands with state authorities to find ways to resolve the issue of cattle raiding in a bid to forge a lasting peace.

“Betrayal can destroy the country and I want you to unite the Murle and especially the youth. There are things where people are hostile and fighting throughout, we don’t want it to continue, it must stop. We want peaceful co-existent. Nobody should abduct someone’s child and nobody should raid someone’s cattle,” he said.

However, on 28 January this year, President Salva Kiir told the communities in greater Jonglei Kiir during the closing of the Jonglei-Pibor Administrative Area peace conference that he will not intervene again if they engage in ethnic conflict.