Bench Maji zone, also known as Bench Sheko zone, was formerly one of the 14 zones in Ethiopia’s Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples region (SNNPR). Since 23 November 2021, it has become one of the zones in the newest region of Ethiopia, South West Ethiopia Peoples region. Bench Maji zone is bordered on the south by Ilemi Triangle, on the southwest by South Sudan, on the northwest by Gambela region, on the north by Sheka zone, on the northeast by Keffa zone, and on the southeast by SNNPR. Ethnic groups like Dizi, Suri, Sheko, Kefa, Sheka, Mezhenger, Bench, and Me’enit are considered ‘Indigenous’ to the zone. People who settled in Bench Maji zone as part of the resettlement programs of the mid-1980s and from 2003 to 2004 are considered ‘settlers.’1Tagel Wondimu and Fana Gebresenbet, ‘Resourcing land, dynamics of exclusion and conflict in the Maji area, Ethiopia,’ Conflict, Security and Development, 2018, pp. 547-570 Besides government-induced migration, Bench Maji zone has long been attractive to people who travel from other areas to work on commercial farms and artisanal gold mines. Conflict between these Indigenous and settler groups over resources occurs at regular intervals.
Violent conflict has occurred in Maji and Guraferda woredas of the zone. In Maji woreda, ethnic Suri people often clash with authorities over access to water from the Koki river, which has been diverted to the Koka plantation owned by Malaysian investors.2The Oakland Institute, ‘Engineering Ethnic Conflict: The Toll of Ethiopia’s Plantation Development on Suri People,’ 2014 In 2011, the government started its villagization program, which was designed to settle the pastoral and agro-pastoral population of the Suri and the Me’enit within the Bench Maji zone. This program has been heavily criticized as causing conflict as it “displaces land users to make way for commercial agricultural investments.”3Tagel Wondimu & Fana Gebresenbet, ‘Resourcing land, dynamics of exclusion and conflict in the Maji area, Ethiopia,’ Conflict, Security and Development, 2018, pp. 547-570
In Guraferda, the Indigenous ethnic groups, Sheko and Mezheniger, blame settler populations for cutting trees and the reduction of bee populations. As the livelihoods of the locals depend on honey and cattle, competition over land is a key source of conflict between these two groups.4Dejenie Abere, ‘Impact of Resettlement on Woody Plant Species and Local Livelihood: The Case of Guraferda Woreda in Bench Maji Zone, South Western, Ethiopia,’ 1 June 2011 Since the establishment of the South West Ethiopia Peoples’ region (SWEPR) – composed of five zones, including Bench Maji zone and one special woreda – political violence has decreased in this area.