Grassroots Summit in Western Equatoria
For two days, chiefs, officials and residents of Yambio and Nzara gathered at the Women Empowerment Centre in Yambio, searching for answers to simmering border tensions and cattle-related insecurity that have slowed development across Western Equatoria State.
Unity Message Threads the Talks
Conference chair Elia Richard Box, once deputy governor, insisted the forum remain free of partisan rhetoric, framing it instead as a rally for unity, economic vitality and strengthened social services in education, health and agriculture.
Land Rows and Ambororo Movements
Physician Isaac Aziz Bazuba highlighted mounting friction from transhumant Ambororo herders, overlapping land titles and scarce jobs for an expanding youth population, warning that unresolved grievances risk reigniting violence.
Municipal Response on Illegal Sales
Mayor Fozia Abbas Barnaba reported delegates’ agreement to create a fact-finding committee, empowered to trace illicit land transactions, map contested boundaries between Yambio and Nzara, and brief the state assembly on swift corrective measures.
Governor Backs Grassroots Strategy
Governor James Altaib Berapai applauded the citizen-led blueprint, calling it a practical guide for peaceful coexistence, infrastructure upgrades and agricultural revival across the fertile fringes of Western Equatoria.
Next Steps Toward Sustainable Peace
Participants pledged tighter cooperation with security forces, vocational training for youths and fresh investment in farm inputs and feeder roads, arguing that prosperity remains the surest antidote to cross-border suspicion.
The conference closed with a unanimous chant of ‘One people, one future’, a refrain many hope will echo along contested paths long after the delegates return to their fields and classrooms.