Budi County | |
|---|---|
  Budi County Location in South Sudan | |
| Coordinates: 4°15′22″N33°27′22″E / 4.25611°N 33.45611°E | |
| Country |  South Sudan |
| Region | Equatoria |
| State | Eastern Equatoria |
| Headquarters | Chukudum |
| Government | |
| • County Commissioner | Akileo Mboya Anyanga |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2,211 sq mi (5,727 km2) |
| Population (2017 estimate [1] ) | |
| • Total | 153,314 |
| • Density | 69/sq mi (27/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (CAT) |
Budi County is an administrative area of Eastern Equatoria state in South Sudan, with headquarters in Chukudum.
Budi county is derived from two ethnic groups who inhabit the area (Buya and Didinga). It is located in Eastern Equatoria State, bordered by Uganda to the south and Kenya in the East. Budi county was under Kapoeta District in 1956. It was split off when Greater Kapoeta was divided between Kapoeta Counties and Budi County. Historically Budi county is the last stronghold of the Sudan's people's Liberation Army and movement (SPLA/M)during the liberation wars. In 1994, Chukudum, the headquarter of Budi hosted the first national SPLM Convention, which gave birth to modern administrative structures of the SPLM and South Sudan. Coincidentally, Dr. Joh Garang De Mabior the leader and founder of SPLM, untimely died in helicopter crash in Budi county in 2005.
Budi County has two distinct ecological zones. The highlands run from north to south along the eastern border with Kapoeta County. The lowlands descend from the east towards the Kidepo River in the west. The highlands have two rainy seasons, March–September and October–February, making agriculture productive and often producing surplus crops for sale. The lowlands have a single long planting season from March to September, and often experience food shortages. [2]
The county is divided into the payams of Kimatong, Lotukei, Komiri (Chukudum), Loudo, Lauro, Ngarich and Nagishot. The Buya people are about 20-30% of the population and the Didinga people are estimated 70-80% of the total. 2005 population estimates ranged between 128,385 and 155,847, with the lower number considered more plausible. The Buya occupy most of the lowlands of the Kimatong and Ngarich payams, in the northern half of the county, and the Didinga occupy the remaining southern payams of the county. [2]
As of 2005 Budi County had one 800 metres (2,600 ft) airstrip, in Chukudum town. It had no paved roads, but was accessible from Kenya and Uganda, at least in the dry season. With the Didinga-Toposa peace agreement of February 2003 the Kapoeta-Lauro road was opened and it became possible for aid workers to reach the Lauro payam for the first time. New unpaved roads had given the economy a boost. [2]
Both the Buya and Didinga peoples are agro-pastoralists. The main crops are sorghum, maize, bulrush millet, potatoes, beans and sesame. There is potential, at least among the Didinga in the south, for the country to produce a surplus of crops. Wild foods are found in most areas, particularly in the fertile Kidepo valley, and include komok,[ what language is this? ] lalop (desert date), nyyethit,[ what language is this? ] tamarind, leit and palm fruits. Fish and game are not a significant source of food.
The Buya mainly measure their wealth in cattle, while the Didinga include cattle and granaries of threshed grain in their measure of wealth. With both groups, livestock plays a central role in people's lives, and are important during initiation and marriage rites where they are slaughtered for food or exchanged as formal gifts. [2]
A December 2009 livelihood assessment conducted by International Relief and Development (IRD), the American Refugee Committee (ARC) and Mines Advisory Group (MAG), found that 5,000 internally displaced people and 2,528 returnees were living in the county. These people had few means for survival, and suffered chronic malnutrition. They had little knowledge of farming, including planting, weeding, water control, harvesting and sales of their crop. Failures of rainfall in 2009 had aggravated the problem. [3]
The county came under the control of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in 1987. During the civil war, insecurity was caused by fighting between the SPLA and the rebel forces of Commander Peter Lorot, cattle rustling and attacks from militia groups. The fighting with Lorot's forces displaced about 16,800 people from Chukudum to nearby villages in the highlands. The "Chukudom Crisis" was resolved in August 2002 during a Peace Conference organized by the New Sudan Council of Churches. During the crisis, land mines were sown in the fields around Chukudum. Cattle raids by the Logiri of Torit and the Toposa of Kapoeta have been an ongoing cause of insecurity. The Lord's Resistance Army from Uganda, led by Joseph Kony, was among the armed groups that added to the general insecurity. [2] A 2005 report noted tension between the Didinga and the SPLA, with villagers afraid of the soldiers and young women hiding in the hills to avoid rape. [4]
Security is still poor. Before the January 2011 referendum, County Commissioner Charles Adtul said the people of the Lotukei Payam were not able to vote because they were afraid to cross the territories of other communities after an attack on 24 December 2010 in which five people were killed and three injured. [5] In February 2011 two Catholic priests from the Torit diocese were ambushed at Ngarera on the road between Camp 15 and Chukudum. More than six men in military uniforms sprayed their vehicle with bullets before being scared away by an approaching minibus. [6] A few days later, two policemen were killed, while 16 others escaped, in an ambush on the Loriyok-Chukudum road. [7]
Eastern Equatoria is a state in South Sudan. It has an area of 73,472 km2. The capital City is Torit. On October 1, 1972, the state was divided into Imatong and Namorunyang states and was re-established by a peace agreement signed on 22 February 2020.
The Didinga (Didinga) are a Surmic ethnic group that occupy the Didinga Mountains region in Budi County, Eastern Equatoria State in South Sudan. They live in the valleys, on the plateaus and slopes, and on the adjacent plains of the region. Their neighbors include the Toposa, Turkana, Boya, Ketebo, Logir, Ik, Dodos and Dongotona peoples - groups with whom the Didinga have had frequent conflicts due to economic pressures.
The Toposa are a Nilotic ethnic group in South Sudan, living in the Greater Kapoeta region of Eastern Equatoria state. They have traditionally lived by herding cattle, sheep and goats, and in the past were involved in the ivory trade. They have a tradition of constant low-level warfare, usually cattle raids, against their neighbors.
The Ketebo people are an ethnic group in South Sudan. The Ketebo are inhabitants of Bira which is the land of the Ketebo. Bira which was a Ugandan Protectorate until 1925 and was transferred to Sudan's administration in 1926. The Ketebo are sometimes referred to by the Didinga as "Loceha/Loceka". The Ketebo live in Bira, which is one of the Payams of Kidepo County, Torit, Eastern Equatoria State of South Sudan. They are one of the smallest and least known tribes in South Sudan. The Ketebo in Uganda are called Mening, which is also one of the smallest tribes in Uganda. The population of this ethnic group is over 45,000. Bira is the land of the Ketebo which include; Lofus, Madial, Lorum, Lotome, Lojilingare, Arata, Nakoringole, Lonyili, Kamulach, Tulel, Ofi, Natedo, Nahitahapel (Ihapelmoru), Naurkori, Lochorangichokio, Lokudul, Napeyase, Ogeng, Tongoborei, Kalabe (Apoka), Irobi, Narus, Koryang, Tomoodo, Koryang, Losigiria, Irobi just to mention a few. The Ketebo people are also found in Lotukei in Budi County.
Ikotos County is an administrative area in the Eastern Equatoria state of South Sudan with headquarters in the town of Ikotos. The people, who live in the county's area by subsistence agriculture and cattle herding, are poverty-stricken. Years of civil war have made violence commonplace: most people have experienced the murder of a close family member. In 2009, AK-47 rifles were used in 42 per cent of killings.
Chukudum is a town in Budi County, Eastern Equatoria, South Sudan. It is located at the base of the Didinga Mountains and is home to the Didinga tribe. It faces issues such as poor infrastructure, conflict, and security challenges exacerbated by its history during the Second Sudanese Civil War.
Peter Lorot is a former officer who served with the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) during the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005). He broke away from the SPLA in 1999 with a Didinga force based on Chukudum, in Budi County of Eastern Equatoria State in South Sudan. In the resulting conflict many people were displaced. As of April 2011 Lorot's forces were still not reconciled with the de facto SPLM government.
Greater Kapoeta is the name given to the eastern half of the erstwhile Eastern Equatoria State in South Sudan, at one time an administrative region with headquarters in the town of Kapoeta. Greater Kapoeta was divided between Kapoeta County and Budi County, named after the Buya and Didinga (BU-DI) people. Kapoeta County was later split into Kapoeta North, South and East counties.
Louis Lobong Lojore is a South Sudanese Politician and a military governor in the rank of lieutenant general in the South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF) and the current governor of Eastern Equatoria State in South Sudan. He was the governor of Eastern Equatoria state from 2010 to 2015, governor of Kapoeta State from 2015 to 2020, and has been the governor of the recreated Eastern Equatoria state since 29 June 2020. Lobong is the longest serving governor in South Sudan.
Namorunyang is a village and Payam of Kapoeta South County in Eastern Equatoria, South Sudan.
Kapoeta South County is an administrative region in Eastern Equatoria State. The county logo is a ram with horns and slightly bent tail. The county includes the Kapoeta Town, Machi and Namorunyang Payams.
The Government of Eastern Equatoria from 2005 to 2010 took office in Eastern Equatoria State of South Sudan after a peace treaty was signed between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement and the government of Sudan based in Khartoum. Elections were originally planned for 2009, but were postponed until April 2010.
The Didinga Hills are an upland area in Eastern Equatoria of South Sudan, lying mainly within Budi County.
Nadapal is a community in the south west of Kapoeta East County, South Sudan near the border with the Rift Valley province of Kenya. The Nadapal belt is an area stretching 25 kilometres (16 mi) southward from the border with South Sudan to Lokichogio in Kenya.
Riwoto is a community in Eastern Equatoria state of South Sudan. It is a payam and village in Kapoeta North County.
Natinga originated from Didinga's common word "kitingatek" which literarily means let's force it.
Kapoeta East County is an administrative region of Eastern Equatoria state in South Sudan, bordered by Kenya to the south, Ethiopia to the east and Jonglei state to the west. It is part of the Greater Kapoeta region of the state. The largest ethnic group is the Toposa people. The principal town is Narus. The county includes the disputed Ilemi triangle, controlled by Kenya. The emblem of the county is a horned bull, with big humps and a large tail.
George Echom Ekeno is a politician who was deputy governor of Eastern Equatoria state in South Sudan, and was later appointed state minister for Environment, Wildlife Conservation & Tourism.
The Kidepo Game Reserve is a protected area located in Ikotos and Budi counties, Eastern Equatoria State, South Sudan, Africa. With an area of 1200 km2, this reserve is located 4° 04'N and 33° 28'E on the South Sudan/Uganda border, where it forms a contiguous ecosystem with Uganda's Kidepo Valley National Park.
Lobira is a community in Torit County, Eastern Equatoria state, South Sudan. It is on the southern road between Torit and Kapoeta, and lies to the north of Lobira hill.
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