South Sudan official calls for resolving border dispute with Uganda
President Salva Kiir and his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Kaguta Museveni have been tasked to expedite demarcation of their hitherto disputed border line between Kajo-Keji County and Yumbe district in Uganda’s West Nile region.
This came after authorities in Central Equatoria State met last week with those in Yumbe and Moyo district in Uganda to settle ongoing border dispute.
Lasu Simon, the office manager in the office of the Commissioner for Kajo-keji County, told The Juba Echo on Monday that both sides called for speeding up border demarcation.
“The resolution is that the two heads of states have to speed up the demarcation of the border line, and the second resolution was that all landlords need to have regular meeting to help iron out their dispute,” Simon said.
”The whole resolution is that any kind of activity there must be stopped, that place is still under question because Ugandans are saying it is theirs and South Sudanese are saying it is theirs, the two Heads of States have to work on the demarcation,” he added.
Simon revealed the disputed Koiba village in Bamurye boma of Kajo-keji County was in the past a base for the then rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) during Operation Thunderbolt (OTB). Meanwhile, Ugandans refer to the disputed place as Ngwere North.
On May 7th, the two communities clashed over ownership of land in Koiba village in Bamurye Boma leaving one person dead and others injured.
“The SSPDF and UPDF will have a joint patrol along the border line, the teams from South Sudan and Uganda are meeting to decide on how they can jointly patrol the borderline to avoid further problems,” Simon said.
