Such is Lobong’s unpopularity among his own Toposa ethnic group that he was unseated as community chairperson in 2020. The community instead chose to back Paul Napon Yonai, a member of the Eastern Equatoria State Legislature well-loved by Toposa cattle guards. Napon was backed by Losike Lokorai, a popular Toposa politician and a member of the national Council of States.
For Lobong, loyalty to Juba has come at a price. Serving the interests of elites in Juba has frequently meant acting against the interests of his own community, which has reacted accordingly. In 2022, Bor Dinka cattle herders entered Eastern Equatoria, displaced an estimated 14,000 Equatorians, and allowed their grazing animals to destroy crops, resulting in clashes breaking out between the Dinka cattle herders and agricultural Equatorian groups. Equatorians alleged that the herds were the property of Dinka elites in Juba and that their guards received small arms from the South Sudanese security services, at the behest of elite Bor Dinka politicians. The state government did not intervene to resolve the situation. Instead, Acholi and Lotoko youth facilitated a Murle raid on Dinka cattle camps. The Murle raiders then sheltered in Torit and the Imehejek Administrative Area, before returning to the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA).[1]
In 2024, there was an even more daring raid. An altercation had occurred in Kapoeta East in 2023, which led to a Dinka police officer shooting a Toposa man. Lobong sheltered the police officer, who was moved for his own protection to Kapoeta South, where he shot two Toposa men in another quarrel. The Toposa responded by surrounding the barracks where the man had been placed in protective custody. Lobong directed his security forces to extract the officer and take him to Juba, via Torit. Many Toposa interpreted this as a slight to the community, which looked for an opportunity to retaliate. In 2024, one of Lobong’s daughters was married, following an extremely high bridewealth payment. Because customary rules prevented the Toposa from raiding Lobong’s herd themselves, they instead facilitated a Murle raid in April 2024, which took approximately 16,000–24,000 head of cattle from one of Lobong’s cattle camps, including the cattle paid in bridewealth for his daughter.[2] When asked to pursue the raiders, the Toposa demurred; the raiders’ return to the GPAA was facilitated by a multitude of different ethnic groups in Eastern Equatoria.
[1] Author telephone interviews with sources in Torit and Bor, September 2024.
[2] Author telephone interviews with multiple sources in Eastern Equatoria, August–October 2024.
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