‘It’s a lie!’: Occupants of alleged police land deny demanding $10B compensation

Residents of the Gudele-Buaba area in Juba have denied allegations that they are demanding 10 billion US dollars as compensation from border police to resolve a land dispute while the case is in court.

On Sunday, Lt. Khamis Justin, the Executive Officer in the Office of the Assistant Inspector General of Border Police, said the occupants have asked for the 10 billion dollars in order to vacate the land.

But the chief of the area, Anei Donato Arek, refuted the assertion that they are demanding the large amount as compensation.

In an exclusive interview with Eye Radio, he said the dispute has been transferred to court, where legal proceedings are ongoing.

Arek argued that the allegations regarding the compensation demand are not accurate and misrepresent their position on the matter.

“It’s a lie, we did not sit with them. You cannot take someone to the court and later you come and ask for compensation, we don’t want compensation,” he said.

“We are South Sudanese and we are not foreigners in this country, we cannot say we will leave this place because we are here since 2006 till today. The people that we found here are Sudan Army Forces.”

The local chief said after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, the land was put under the Joint Integration Unit.

“We did not get any police here, and even the logo that still here is the logo of buffalo which belongs to Sudan, all those buildings belonged to those of Sudan army and not police.”

“I have been authorized by my people, and these people are also working in the same one government that we are sharing with the police. We opened a case against the police because they have announced that in the coming November, they going to demolish our houses.”

Meanwhile, Aleu Akol, one of the residents of the disputed land, revealed that they are now awaiting the outcome of the court case, which will determine the resolution of this dispute.

Mr. Akol said the communities living in the area have built total of 720 houses and buried deceased relatives there.

“Those who are residing here are residing in their houses and even if someone dies, we bury them at these houses,” he said.

“There are several grievances, what I have seen is the issue of land and South Sudanese are the ones living in this land of South Sudan, and what they have been saying that we asked for compensation, which is not true.”

He said that should a court rules that the land indeed belongs to the border police, they will accept a compensation which is not in the form of money, but another land in a different place.

Last week, the Inspector General of Police directed the Border Police Directorate to speed up legal procedures for reclaiming its headquarters land which has been occupied in the Gudele Residential Area.

However, land disputes are common in various parts of South Sudan, often involving complex issues related to ownership, displacement, and legal rights, further complicating efforts for peaceful resolutions.