WES Tambura County kicks off census with chaos

April 22, 2008 – The census enumeration started in chaos in Tambura County’s Mapiso and Giara villages on Tuesday as members of the community refused to cooperate with the enumerators because of boundary conflicts that have long-affected relations between Nagero and Tambura counties.

In Giara village a payam chief, Simon Bakiringba, was beaten terribly by angry citizens and was admitted in the hospital. The attackers said that they would not agree to being counted until the boundary decision was made by officials. But the violence dispersed the census officials who had come to start listing households.

In Mapiso area - on census maps part of Tambura County - there were similar scenes as the people refused to be counted by enumerators from Tambura County, picking up sticks in protest.

“They should solve the issue of the border first and then we can allow census to take place here … and we shall know where we belong,” said a sub chief.

Forces from the Joint Integrated Units and police from Tambura were sent to arrest the situation before it got worse.

After some lengthy discussions with the community leaders, the team learnt that the two places – Kpangima and Namutina, all in the disputed Namutina Payam – have people with different interests. The people who belong to Kpangima would like to belong to Tambura County while those in Namutina centre identify themselves as belonging to Nagero County.

“Azande who live in Kpangima want to be counted by Tambura enumerators and the Balanda in Namutina centre want to be part of Nagero. This is where the whole thing is tied up” explained a Zande chief during the discussion.

According to locals around town of Tambura, it seems there are politicians who want maintain their positions in government posts on the ticket of Nagero county and are busy agitating the locals who have coexisted peacefully to protest their being counted for Tambura County.

“For me I know that it is politicians who want to confuse the people. if Nagero is less populated then it will be cancelled as a county …that is why they want increase the number in Nagero to maintain its current status” said a trader in town on conditions of anonymity.