South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Simon Deng
The residents of Molubur area in Lado Payam have welcomed the verdict of the Juba County after issued fines for 35 suspected land grabbers who had sought to evict them.
Francos Joseph, the chief of Molubur on Thursday said that they are relieved with the court ruling reinstating majority of the displaced people on their land.
“We have been disturbed since July last year by land grabbers, they have demarcated many areas including inhabited places, we have tried to fence the area but still they attacked the people,” Joseph told The Dawn in an interview in Gudele suburb in Juba.
He said the suspected land grabbers burnt down his house resulting into loses of his property.
several items are destroyed inside, as chief ,we have lose many things and they are getting away with only fine of 200,000 SSP or 3 months jail term,” he said.
The Juba County Court ordered the 35 suspects to a fine ranging from 150,000 SSP to 250000 SSP or three -month imprisonment if they fail to pay the fines.
Lado Satimo Agrrey, the representative of Lado Payam said that the government is working to protect the community and their properties from land grabbers.
“The land grabbers are organized, they come with machetes and guns and they intimidate people, we have protected Lado Payam especially the area of Molubur and Bori where land grabbing is rampant,” said Agrrey.
William Patiri Soka, a resident of Molubur said that the land grabbers are aided by powerful individuals within the military which has frustrated their efforts to get justice.
“We have even opened in the past several cases with the police but none was arrested, they have demarcated many places, they have taken over many places along the Bahr El Ghazal highway,” said Soka.
“We tried to fence Molubur area but they brought the fence down, we fenced the area at a cost of 2500 U.S dollars up to the area bordering Kurjik and Bori,” he said.
The Juba County Commissioner Charles Joseph Wani last week announced the arrest of 40 suspected land grabbers including military officers believed to be working against the law in Molubur area.
