Small Tribes Should Be Given Recognition and Equal Treatment: Commissioner
Citing Tenet of Lopa/Lafon, Jie and Nyangatom of Kapoeta East, Lofi and Horiok of Torit, Torit Commissioner German Charles Ojok has said it is time for the hidden tribes or sub-tribes to be given equal recognition and to receive equal treatment and rights in their independent nation, South Sudan. 17 May 2013 By Peter Lokale Nakimangole TORIT, 15 May 2013 [Gurtong] – “In Torit, we have one of the tribes called ‘Horiok’. It is one of the biggest tribes in Torit. Horiok before the country’s independence did get lose by other bigger tribes but it is now time to give recognition that what the south Sudanese community fought for,” he said. In late April this year, Ofi village, Ofi, one of the Otuho sections in Eastern Equatoria that has been settling between Torit and Ikwoto border point petition sought to break away from Ikwoto County to Torit County. It came out boldly with a formal request, petitioning the state leaders to humbly and legitimately allow them move from Ikwoto County to Torit County. Identifying a holding of a referendum as official part of solution, the community is appealing to the authorities of Torit and Ikwoto, and the state government to swiftly find a solution to their thorny problem saying they have suffered enough under Ikwoto administration because of denial of essential services the county could deliver to them. In a related development, last year, following their plead, the state governor, Louis Lobong Lojore ruled that the Lofi community be fallen under his office even until now, the move they have commented has worked better than when they had been under Ikwoto authority. The community says continue to be under the governor office or administration as the community is not enough but joining Torit County while remaining within the same area is ultimate solution to resolving the itchy issue. Ofi Community Recommendations A letter dated 13rd April 2013 signed by Ofi Community’s Chairperson and was read at a conference held at Lofi village which was attended by two County commissioners’ German Charles Ojok and Peter Lokeng Lotone of Torit and Ikwoto respectively and other key intellectuals from both counties. Ofi community petition for the return to Hiyala payam remains the same and we stand by it. Ofi community will continue to live in Ofi village as ancestral homeland, Ofi. As tradition requires, we would like to see the landlords from Ofi community and the Lango landlord to come out here to swear before everybody here. Bordering Ethiopia to the East, Kenya to the Southeast, Uganda to the South, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the southwest, the Central African Republic to the west and Sudan to the north, South Sudan, officially pronounced the ‘Republic of South Sudan’, became an independent state on 9 July 2011, following a referendum that accepted secession with 98.83% of the vote. It is now a United Nations member state, a member state of the African Union, and a member state of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development. In July 2012, South Sudan signed the Geneva Conventions. On 9 July 2011South Sudanese wept openly as they celebrated their independence, cheering, whistling and dancing down the streets in a ceremony fitting for the birth of a new nation. The referendum was part of a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war pitting a government dominated by Arab Muslims in the north against black Christians and animists in the south. The war killed about 2 million people. Amid the independence celebrations, some residents paid tribute to relatives killed in the war. Posted in: Home, Governance -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
