By Dak Buoth Riek-Gaak
3 February 2025. Bor Community is one of our communities that South Sudan is very proud of because they produced one of the brilliant elder sons, who is none other than Dr. John Garang De Mabior, co-founder of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and Army (SPLM/A). When I say Bor community, I mean the Dinka of Duk, Bor and Twic counties of Jonglei State.
However, I know that the Dinka of Twic East and Duk as Nyarweng no longer want to be identify as Bor for one reason or another. With this contention in mind, I would like to request that you grant me latitude to generalized the trio as Bor for the purpose of this particular argument.
I penned this opinion piece in the wake of the reported communal violence pitting Bor Community and Eastern Equatoria state communities. On 31st January 2025, numerous Press statements authored by Section of Bor communities indicates, that in the wee hours of the forementioned date, Dinka Bor were subjected to a brutal and barbaric attack at Nyolo cattle camp in Aru junction, killing about 31 innocent people including children, women and the elderly.
Numerically, thirty-one is not just a number. In fact, if it was not because South Sudan is used to losing big number of people dying in one or two days, the entire South Sudan could mourn to an extent of lowering her flag to fly at low mast.
In fact, this figure is almost equal to the number of South Sudanese who got murdered in Wad Madeni, Sudan. The unjustifiable death of innocent persons is condemnable. The offence and penalty for death is almost the same everywhere.
The killing of south Sudanese by south Sudanese is the same as the killing of south Sudanese by other nationalities. Therefore, the de facto South Sudan regime of General Salva Kiir must come out to condemn this incident in the same way they condemned the incident of Wad Madeni irrespective of who the perpetrators are. Having stated that, I hereby convey my sincere sympathies to the victims of this heinous crimes of violence.
The World Health Organization (who) defines violence as the ‘‘intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either result in or has likelihood of resulting in injuries, death, psychological harm maldevelopment or deprivation.’’ One of the major problems in Africa, and South Sudan in particular is violence.
Unfortunately, we have tried to launch some combats against the problems of poverty, disease and ignorance, but we are not putting enough fight against violence crimes despite that violence conflicts kill hundreds and thousand South Sudanese more than any other problem in the country. So, this violence phenomenon needs to be given special attend by all and sundry. These acts of violence are due to inaction and injustice which caused cycle of violence in South Sudan.
The recuring violence in our country should be explained from the criminological theory of ‘‘cultural conditioning’’ which narrates the origin of violence from the people’s cultures.
As a country, we have normalized violence as a way of life in South Sudan. This is a reason why everyone including the government is silence because violence happens everywhere.
In addition, people think this violence death is a problem of Dinka Bor alone. As matter of fact, this persistent silence of government in the wake of these killings abet these violence crimes, and they are putting their purported legitimacy at jeopardy.
Rule of Visitors
Jonglei State is the home of Dinka Bor and their Nuer sub-tribes namely Lou, Laak and Gawaar not forgetting Murle and Anyuak tribes. When they moved to E. Equatoria for refuge and greener pastures, they are considered visitors. Another name of a visitor is a guest. We all have a name for a visitor in all our mother tongues. For instance, in Nuer’s thok Naath, a visitor is called Jal or Jaal.
At times, when there is a communal violence pitting Dinka Bor and host communities of Eastern Equatoria, people think Dinka Bor are the aggressors because the conflict often takes place outside Jonglei state.
In these difficult and deadly years of calamities and conflicts, most Dinka Bor like many South Sudanese communities moved to the neighboring states like central and Eastern Equatoria states.
Unfortunately, Dinka Bor moved and migrated with their cattle which often put them into collision and conflict with their host communities who depends entirely on farming and agricultural produce for survival.
More often than not, the conflict between Dinka Bor and Eastern Equatoria communities is called a conflict between cattle keepers and farmers.
The host communities claimed that Dinka Bor destroyed their crops by grazing and rearing their cows on their plantations which the host communities are against for they consider this act as an existential threat to their lives.
By chance, if the government give orders for Dinka Bor to remove and return their cattle to their home state of Jonglei, this problem of revenge killing will end once and for all. Repeatedly, President Salva Kiir have spoken on these cattle related conflicts between Dinka Bor and host communities, but nothing seems to work because all his directives have fallen in deaf ears.
In view of the foregoing, it is an opportune time to remind our Dinka Bor brothers and sisters on the workable rules of visitors to help them deescalate and desist from this existing communal tension.
The Dinka Bor in Eastern Equatoria must be in consensus with us that they are visitors there. More often than seldom, a visitor has limited choices. When a visitor is welcome; he is required to wait for the host to inform and invite him where to sleep and stay for the remaining days he wishes to spend there. This rule includes adhering to the request to vacate the place when the visitor happen to overstayed against the wishes of the host.
During many years of civil war in South Sudan, many people crossed borders to seek refuge in refugee camps like Dadaab and Kakuma in Kenya, Pinyidu in Ethiopia and Vyala in Uganda. On arriving in these United Nations camps, we find places designated for refugees to live as they wait for repatriation to their mother countries. South Sudanese should not abuse the hospitality of Eastern Equatoria communities for one reason or another.
Legally, the host community reserved the right to welcome and accommodate their neighbors except their livestock for their own safety and survival. Those who choose to migrate with their cattle must do that at their own risk as stipulated in law.
There is a strict liability principle drawn from the case of Rylands v. Fletcher (1866) where it was stated that ‘‘The person who, for his own purposes, bring on his land and collects and keeps there anything likely to do mischief if it escapes, keep it in his own peril, if he does not do so, is prima facie answerable for all the damage which is the natural consequence of its escape.’’ Based on this legal maxim, our Dinka Bor community must take blame for the alleged damage and destruction caused by their cattle in Eastern Equatoria state if proven correct.
In 1884, after the Berlin conference, Europeans and Arabs came to Africa as visitors but at long last, they force out the host communities using their scorch earth policies. Soon after they agreed to partitioned Affrica, they changed from visitors to aggressors as was witnessed and experienced by our forefathers.
Relatively, in South Sudan, some communities like Dinka and Nuer are more populous and powerful than other 62 tribes. They are powerful than other partly because their tribesmen have dominated positions of power in the country. Hence, should we allow the duo to migrate with cattle without any rule and regulation, they will turn from visitors to invaders as was done to Africans by Europeans and Arabs.
In 2020, when flood destroyed and displaced people in Panyijiar county, the Nyuong Nuer of Unity State crossed to Lakes State leaving their cattle behind. They were welcome and given a temporal place to live quietly while they perform their meager agricultural Jobs in peace. They went there while bearing in minds the visitor’s rule that is why they lived there peacefully.
In conclusion, we need to be cognizant of the fact that South Sudan is not yet fully a Nation where citizens can migrate and live anywhere freely as they wish.
Even Juba, the capital city of South Sudan is still under the exclusive control of Central Equatoria state government but not under central government. This undisputed fact speak volumes. If South Sudan is like other nations, its capital city could have been administrated democratically by all its citizens who pay taxes for the daily running of its affairs.
Let us wait in our tribal lines and territories until the day we draft and promulgated the permanent constitution that’s people centered then we can say we are a nation govern by the Rule of Law and not Rule of Person as demonstrated in the use of presidential decrees. The faster we agree to prepare a permanent constitution the better.
The Writer is the National Chairperson of Legal and constitutional Affairs in the South Sudan People’s Movement (SSPM); he can be reached for comments via eligodakb@yahoo.com