The Painful History of the Anywaa People in Akobo

The Anywaa people once lived peacefully in Akobo town and its surrounding villages for generations. Akobo was widely known as a homeland where the Anywaa cultivated their land, raised their families, and practiced their culture in peace. Before the emergence of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), life in Akobo was largely stable, and the Anywaa community believed their ancestral land would remain their home forever.

However, the situation changed dramatically in the early 1980s. In 1982, the Sudanese government armed sections of the Nuer community in Akobo with firearms. Officially, these weapons were meant to fight against SPLM forces believed to be operating in areas inhabited by the Anywaa. Instead, those weapons soon turned against innocent Anywaa civilians who had no involvement in the conflict.

In March 1983, Akobo town witnessed one of the darkest and most painful tragedies in the history of the Anywaa people. Armed groups attacked the Anywaa population in a brutal massacre. More than 300 innocent Anywaa men, women, and children were killed. Families were destroyed, homes were burned, and the peaceful life of the community was shattered forever. This massacre remains one of the most devastating acts of violence ever committed against the Anywaa people in Akobo.

Following the massacre, fear and insecurity spread throughout the region. The Sudanese regime continued to support armed Nuer groups in the area. Although the official justification was that the weapons were intended to fight the SPLM, the reality on the ground was very different. These weapons were repeatedly used to terrorize the Anywaa population in Akobo town and its surrounding villages.

Whenever the Anywaa people attempted to return to their homes, they were attacked again. Women and children were not spared. Many were killed, while others were forced to flee in fear. This repeated violence created a deliberate atmosphere of terror intended to permanently remove the Anywaa people from their ancestral land.

In 2005, hope briefly returned when the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed between the SPLM and the government in Khartoum. After decades of war, the agreement gave many displaced communities hope that peace would finally allow them to rebuild their lives.

Encouraged by the peace agreement, many Anywaa families began returning to Akobo town. They returned with hope, believing that peace had finally arrived. They wanted to rebuild their homes, cultivate their land again, and restore the community that had been destroyed.

Sadly, that hope was soon met with renewed violence. Armed groups began ambushing Anywaa civilians traveling between villages. Innocent people were killed simply for attempting to return to their homeland. One painful incident occurred when polio vaccination workers were attacked between Abuk and Buraganya, resulting in several deaths. These attacks created fear and discouraged the Anywaa from returning to Akobo.

Many members of the Anywaa community believe that such attacks were encouraged or tolerated by certain local leaders and commissioners who wanted to prevent the return of the Anywaa population to Akobo town.

When South Sudan gained independence in 2011, the Anywaa people believed that a new era of justice had arrived. They hoped that the new nation would recognize their historical rights and address the long-standing injustices surrounding Akobo.

However, the reality proved deeply disappointing. According to Anywaa leaders, Nuer political elites managed to convince the government that Akobo belonged exclusively to them. As a result, government positions representing Akobo—from the county commissioner to representatives in state and national government—were largely given to Nuer officials.

This political exclusion left the Anywaa community feeling abandoned and voiceless in their own homeland.

Over the years, numerous conferences and peace meetings were organized in Jonglei State to address communal conflicts. Yet the grievances and complaints of the Anywaa people were rarely implemented in practice. Their calls for justice, security, and recognition of their land rights have largely remained unanswered.

In 2013, another tragic event shook the Anywaa community when Chief Chol Odio, a respected Anywaa traditional leader, was killed in his village. Many Anywaa viewed his killing as part of the continuing effort to silence their leaders and further displace the community from Akobo.

Later that same year, when civil war erupted in Juba and spread across South Sudan, violence again reached Akobo. The Anywaa people suffered greatly during this period. Many who remained in the area were targeted and killed.

Even in 2015, when UNMISS peacekeepers were present in Akobo town, reports of killings and intimidation against Anywaa civilians continued. The presence of international forces did little to stop the suffering of the community.

Today, the question of Akobo remains unresolved. For decades, the Anywaa people have raised their concerns and appealed to the government for justice. Yet their voices have often been ignored.

For real and lasting peace in Jonglei State, the issue of Akobo must be addressed honestly and fairly. Peace cannot exist while one community is displaced from its own homeland.

The Anywaa people must be allowed to return safely to Akobo, rebuild their homes, and live without fear. They must also be given their rightful opportunity to represent their land politically and administratively.

Without justice for the Anywaa people of Akobo, the painful wounds of history will remain open, and true peace in the region will remain impossible.

By Opiew Opiew Gilo