Kapoeta East County
Encyclopedia
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.
To the east of the plains the Eastern Uplands run along the Ethiopean border.
The county is administratively divided into the Natinga
, Narus, Mogos, Jie, Kauto, Naita hills and Katodori payams.
Jie Payam is located in the extreme northwest corner of the county, home of the minority tribe of Jie people.
This payam has been cut off from its neighbors for years. It has no sustainable water, and all attempts to drill boreholes have failed. In the past the whole community has migrated to the Buma area of Jonglei state in search of water, resulting in violent conflict with neighboring communities.
Kabekenyang/Natinga payam includes the villages of Natinga
and Kabekenyan.
Narus payam includes Narus and Nadapal
.
In February 2011 the mobile telephone operator Vivacell stated that they had an operational transmission booster in Narus and was planning to build other boosters in Lolim
, Loyoro
and Napotpot.
The Holy Trinity Peace Village at Kuron, in the north east, was founded in 1997 with a demonstration farm.
It as intended as a model to show that the different peoples of the area including Toposa, Jiye
, Murle, Nyangatom
and Kachipo could live and work together in harmony. The village has attracted considerable attention from aid organizations, with construction of a school, grinding mill, primary health care center etc. A bridge was built nearby over the Kuron River, which flows into the country from Ethiopia. Benefits were mixed, with improvements in communication with the Buda region offset by creation of a new route for cattle rustling.
In the first quarter of 2011, 136 cases of Dracunculiasis
(guinea worm disease) were reported from Kapoeta East out of 194 cases for all of South Sudan. The disease is caught by drinking stagnant contaminated water.
In 2009 there were plans to launch a vaccination program against Meningitis in the county, following reports of 62 cases of Meningitis A in Kapoeta North and South.
Kapoeta East has the poorest level of health care coverage of Eastern Equatoria with just one facility for every 66,000 people.
The Catholic Diocese of Torit operates a primary health care center in Narus with 25 beds for in-patients.
The center provides clinical care, laboratory services, ANC, Immunization, Health Education and Child care.
The Kuron Primary Health Care Unit at Kuron Peace Village, in the extreme east of the county is supervised by the Narus center.
The diocese also operates a primary health care center at Nanyangachor
, towards the Ethiopian border in the east of the county. This center has a catchment population of over 300,000 people from the Toposa and Nyangatom
ethnic groups.
A 2008 survey found that less than 30% of school age children were enrolled in schools in the Eastern Equatoria State.
Prevalent cultural values did not favor education, particularly of girls, and girls lacked support while at school.
Following a program initiated by UNICEF assisted by other organizations such as SNV
Netherlands, a slight increase in enrollment was achieved. In 2009, 6,090 pupils (3,799 boys, and 2,291 girls) were enrolled in Kapoeta East County compared to 6,041 pupils (3,754 boys and 2,287 girls) in 2008.
of Kenya, and have been involved in conflict over pasturage and access to water points. The two governments began intensive bottom-up conflict resolution approaches in May 2010. By July 2011 the Kapoeta East county commissioner Titus Lokwacuma reported that the situation was much calmer than it had been in the past.
The border crossing at Nadapal
on the road from Narus to Lokichogio in Kenya has a vital role in supply of goods and services to Southern Sudan, forming part of the "Northern Corridor" linking the port of Mombasa
through Kenya to Southern Sudan.
In July 2008 the border crossing road was closed after Kenyan police prevented truckers from bringing arms into their country. A dispute flared up, with troops from both sides arriving, and the border remained closed for two days as the dispute was sorted out.
In July 2011 the South Sudan government imposed a ban on entry of Somali people
to the country, forcing hundreds of traders and truck drivers to camp at the Nadapal border. After a two-week delay the government relaxed the rule, saying that Somalis of Kenyan origin could enter as long as they produced their national identity cards or passports. For security reasons, non-Kenyan Somalis were still rigidly excluded.
This came at a time when growing numbers of Kenyans were seeking business opportunities in the newly-independent South Sudan, making the border crossing increasingly busy.
South Sudan
South Sudan , officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country located in the Sahel region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN sub-region. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more...
, bordered by Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
to the south, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
to the east and Jonglei
Jonglei
Jonglei is one of the 10 states of South Sudan. Jonglei is the largest state in the Republic of South Sudan, with approximately 122,479 km2, as well as the most populous according to the controversial 2008 census conducted during present-day South Sudan's second period of autonomy. Bor is the...
state to the west. It is part of the Greater Kapoeta
Greater Kapoeta
Greater Kapoeta is the name given to the eastern half of Eastern Equatoria State in South Sudan, at one time an administrative region with headquarters in the town of Kapoeta....
region of the state. The largest ethnic group is the Toposa people.
The principal town is Narus
Narus, South Sudan
Narus is a community in the Eastern Equatoria state of South Sudan. It is the principal community of Kapoeta East County.-Location:Narus is north of the Kenyan border on the road from Kapoeta to Lokichoggio in Kenya....
.
The county includes the disputed Ilemi triangle
Ilemi Triangle
The Ilemi Triangle is an area of disputed land in East Africa. Arbitrarily defined, it measures between 10,320 and 14,000 square kilometers . Named after Anuak chief Ilemi Akwon, the territory is claimed by South Sudan and Kenya and borders Ethiopia...
, controlled by Kenya.
The emblem of the county is a horned bull, with big humps and a large tail.
Location
Most of the county is covered by undulating plain. Average rainfall is less than 700 millimetres (27.6 in) annually. Vegetation consists of thorny scrub and areas of open grassland.To the east of the plains the Eastern Uplands run along the Ethiopean border.
The county is administratively divided into the Natinga
Natinga
Natinga is a refugee camp and a school that was established in 1993 in South Sudan for boys forced from their homes by the Second Sudanese Civil War.It is the center of a payam in Kapoeta East County of Eastern Equatoria.-Location:...
, Narus, Mogos, Jie, Kauto, Naita hills and Katodori payams.
Jie Payam is located in the extreme northwest corner of the county, home of the minority tribe of Jie people.
This payam has been cut off from its neighbors for years. It has no sustainable water, and all attempts to drill boreholes have failed. In the past the whole community has migrated to the Buma area of Jonglei state in search of water, resulting in violent conflict with neighboring communities.
Kabekenyang/Natinga payam includes the villages of Natinga
Natinga
Natinga is a refugee camp and a school that was established in 1993 in South Sudan for boys forced from their homes by the Second Sudanese Civil War.It is the center of a payam in Kapoeta East County of Eastern Equatoria.-Location:...
and Kabekenyan.
Narus payam includes Narus and Nadapal
Nadapal
Nadapal is a community in the north of the Turkana District of Kenya near the border with the Eastern Equatoria state of South Sudan. The Nadapal belt is an area stretching southward from the border with South Sudan to Lokichogio in Kenya....
.
Economy
The pastoral people own large numbers of cattle, sheep and goats. They graze their animals near their villages in the rainy season, then move them to dry-season pastures when the rains end, gradually moving back to the village which they reach at the start of the next rainy season.In February 2011 the mobile telephone operator Vivacell stated that they had an operational transmission booster in Narus and was planning to build other boosters in Lolim
Lolim
Lolim is a community in Eastern Equatoria state of South Sudan. It is on the road from Kapoeta to NarusLolim lies just north of the Loyuro River, which has a pool called Lolimi.The community is mainly made up of Toposa people....
, Loyoro
Loyoro, South Sudan
Loyoro is a community in Eastern Equatoria state of South Sudan, about as the crow flies to the north east of Narus.It lies on the Loyoro River.Loyoro is part of the Narus parish of the Catholic Diocese of Torit....
and Napotpot.
The Holy Trinity Peace Village at Kuron, in the north east, was founded in 1997 with a demonstration farm.
It as intended as a model to show that the different peoples of the area including Toposa, Jiye
Jiye people
The Jiye are an ethnic group living in the Kathangor Hills in the South Sudanese state of Eastern Equatoria....
, Murle, Nyangatom
Nyangatom people
The Nyangatom are a Nilotic ethnic group inhabiting southwestern Ethiopia and southeastern South Sudan...
and Kachipo could live and work together in harmony. The village has attracted considerable attention from aid organizations, with construction of a school, grinding mill, primary health care center etc. A bridge was built nearby over the Kuron River, which flows into the country from Ethiopia. Benefits were mixed, with improvements in communication with the Buda region offset by creation of a new route for cattle rustling.
Health and education
Malaria is a problem is some parts of the county. In 2011, long lasting mosquito nets were being distributed to women and children under the age of five by Population Services International - Sudan, an NGO.In the first quarter of 2011, 136 cases of Dracunculiasis
Dracunculiasis
Dracunculiasis , also called guinea worm disease , is a parasitic infection caused by Dracunculus medinensis, a long and very thin nematode . The infection begins when a person drinks stagnant water contaminated with copepods infested by the larvae of the guinea worm...
(guinea worm disease) were reported from Kapoeta East out of 194 cases for all of South Sudan. The disease is caught by drinking stagnant contaminated water.
In 2009 there were plans to launch a vaccination program against Meningitis in the county, following reports of 62 cases of Meningitis A in Kapoeta North and South.
Kapoeta East has the poorest level of health care coverage of Eastern Equatoria with just one facility for every 66,000 people.
The Catholic Diocese of Torit operates a primary health care center in Narus with 25 beds for in-patients.
The center provides clinical care, laboratory services, ANC, Immunization, Health Education and Child care.
The Kuron Primary Health Care Unit at Kuron Peace Village, in the extreme east of the county is supervised by the Narus center.
The diocese also operates a primary health care center at Nanyangachor
Nanyangachor
Nanyangachor is a community in Eastern Equatoria state of South Sudan. It is in the Eastern Uplands of Kapoeta East County, near the border with Ethiopia.-Location:...
, towards the Ethiopian border in the east of the county. This center has a catchment population of over 300,000 people from the Toposa and Nyangatom
Nyangatom people
The Nyangatom are a Nilotic ethnic group inhabiting southwestern Ethiopia and southeastern South Sudan...
ethnic groups.
A 2008 survey found that less than 30% of school age children were enrolled in schools in the Eastern Equatoria State.
Prevalent cultural values did not favor education, particularly of girls, and girls lacked support while at school.
Following a program initiated by UNICEF assisted by other organizations such as SNV
SNV Netherlands Development Organisation
SNV Netherlands Development Organisation is a non-profit, international development organisation, established in the Netherlands in 1965.SNV aims to alleviate poverty by enabling increased income and employment opportunities and increasing access to basic services...
Netherlands, a slight increase in enrollment was achieved. In 2009, 6,090 pupils (3,799 boys, and 2,291 girls) were enrolled in Kapoeta East County compared to 6,041 pupils (3,754 boys and 2,287 girls) in 2008.
Issues
For many years the Toposa people of Kapoeta have exchanged cross-border cattle raids with the Turkana peopleTurkana people
The Turkana are a Nilotic people native to the Turkana District in northwest Kenya, a dry and hot region bordering Lake Turkana in the east, Pokot, Rendille and Samburuto the south, Uganda to the west, and Sudan and Ethiopia to the north...
of Kenya, and have been involved in conflict over pasturage and access to water points. The two governments began intensive bottom-up conflict resolution approaches in May 2010. By July 2011 the Kapoeta East county commissioner Titus Lokwacuma reported that the situation was much calmer than it had been in the past.
The border crossing at Nadapal
Nadapal
Nadapal is a community in the north of the Turkana District of Kenya near the border with the Eastern Equatoria state of South Sudan. The Nadapal belt is an area stretching southward from the border with South Sudan to Lokichogio in Kenya....
on the road from Narus to Lokichogio in Kenya has a vital role in supply of goods and services to Southern Sudan, forming part of the "Northern Corridor" linking the port of Mombasa
Mombasa
Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry....
through Kenya to Southern Sudan.
In July 2008 the border crossing road was closed after Kenyan police prevented truckers from bringing arms into their country. A dispute flared up, with troops from both sides arriving, and the border remained closed for two days as the dispute was sorted out.
In July 2011 the South Sudan government imposed a ban on entry of Somali people
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
to the country, forcing hundreds of traders and truck drivers to camp at the Nadapal border. After a two-week delay the government relaxed the rule, saying that Somalis of Kenyan origin could enter as long as they produced their national identity cards or passports. For security reasons, non-Kenyan Somalis were still rigidly excluded.
This came at a time when growing numbers of Kenyans were seeking business opportunities in the newly-independent South Sudan, making the border crossing increasingly busy.