Gbudwe State was a state of South Sudan that existed between 2 October 2015 and 22 February 2020. It was created from Western Equatoria state. Tambura State was split from Gbudwe State on January 14, 2017. Gbudwe State was located in the Equatoria region. Gbudwe bordered the states of Lol, Maridi, Tambura, and Western Lakes, and also the province of

Haut-Uélé Haut-Uélé (French for "Upper Uélé") is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Haut-Uélé, Bas-Uélé, Ituri, and Tshopo provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the ...

in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

and Haut-Mbomou in the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

. The state had a population of 364,272 in 2008.

History

Before the creation of the state, Gbudwe State was part of Western Equatoria. On 2 October 2015, President Salva Kiir issued a decree establishing 28 states in place of the 10 constitutionally established states. The decree established the new states largely along ethnic lines. A number of opposition parties and civil society groups challenged the constitutionality of the decree. Kiir later resolved to take it to parliament for approval as a constitutional amendment. In November the South Sudanese parliament empowered President Kiir to create new states. Patrick Raphael was appointed Governor on 24 December 2015. On 22 February 2020, a peace deal ending the South Sudanese Civil War reverted the 28 states back into the original 10 states. Gbudwe State has since been reincorporated into Western Equatoria.

Geography

Gbudwe State is located in the Equatoria

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

and the state bordered the states of Wau State to the north, Lol State to the northwest, Tonj State to the northeast, as well as the Congolese province of

to the south, Maridi State to the east, the Central African region of Haut-Mbomou to the west, and Western Lakes State to the northeast.

Administrative divisions

After the original states split up, Gbudwe State broke down even further for a total of 13 counties in the state. The 13 counties are part of the 180 counties in South Sudan. Also, each county receives a county commissioner. The 13 counties are consisted of the following: * Former

Nzara County Nzara County is a county in Western Equatoria State, South Sudan. And was part of Yambio county before South Sudan's independence. History Nzara County was part of Western Equatoria State when South Sudan became independent. Nzara County bec ...

: ** Basukangbi ** Nzara ** Sakure * Former Ezo County: ** Ezo ** Naandi * Former Nagero County: ** Nagero * Former Tombura County: ** Mopoi ** Ri-Yubu ** Tombura * Former

Yambio County Yambio County is an administrative state capital of Western Equatoria State, South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. ...

: ** Bangazagino ** Bangasu ** Yambio

Towns and cities

The capital of Gbudwe State was Yambio, located in Yambio County. The city had an estimated population of around 31,700 in 2011. Other towns and villages in the state include Ezo, Nzara, and Tombura.

References

{{coord missing, South Sudan Equatoria States of South Sudan