UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
27 Dec
2011
High bride wealth and rebel militias
27 December 2011 – Demand for high dowries has intensified conflict in Jonglei State, as more cattle are needed to pay them, according to a Bor County resident.
Marriage had become expensive in the Dinka community, said 32-year-old typist Gabriel Deng, adding that from 30 to 300 head of cattle were required for a girl's family to accept the proposed husband.
Most of those who could afford marriage bills were either highly educated or came from overseas with money, Mr. Deng said.
Lack of employment and economic means had forced many youth to seek alternatives to acquire bride wealth, he said, such as raiding other communities and fueling violence.
"If one is lucky and goes raiding three to four times without being killed, one can ... settle one's marriage," Mr. Deng said. Youth did not wish to kill or steal but pressure from girls' parents for cattle forced them to do so.
"Too much demand to meet marriage requirements and high poverty levels have motivated the youth to continue raiding cattle despite the risk of death,"concurred Dual Bijiek, a director general in the Jonglei State Ministry of Information and Communications.
He added that parents could withhold the girl until the entire payment was settled. "You will not have a wife without cattle."
Although cattle rustling seemed a prime cause of insecurity in Jonglei, activities of the late rebel leader George Athor, who was killed on 19 December, also had a significant impact..
Cattle rustling existed before George Athor went to the bush, said another Bor resident, Jok Ajak, but since then tactics had changed. "The killing of innocent people like children and women and burning of houses and looting of property were a new phenomenon."
Some residents were pleased to hear about Mr. Athor's death, while others had a different view.
"Nobody celebrates when someone dies," Mr. Deer said. "What I have been looking for is to see him alive ... (and) be taken to the court. I do not see that death is a solution to everything."
