# Lower Juba

> Lower Juba is the far southern region on the border with Kenya, with the port city of Kismayo (Kismaayo) as its capital and about 1.2 million people.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/regions/lower-juba/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## Who lives there

About 1,204,269 people (IPC, January 2026) ([EUAA 2026](https://www.euaa.europa.eu/print/pdf/node/31710)). The districts are Kismayo (the capital), Jamaame, Badhaadhe and Afmadow. Many communities live there, including Somali Bantu farming families along the river and the Bajuni ([EUAA 2025](https://www.euaa.europa.eu/coi/somalia/2025/security-situation/21-jubbaland/213-lower-juba)).

The Bajuni live in Kismayo and on the Bajuni Islands near Kenya. They speak Kibajuni, most are poor fishers, and they have no representative in the Jubaland government ([Minority Rights Group](https://minorityrights.org/communities/benadiri/)).

**Displaced:** 34,081 people were newly displaced from April 2025 to February 2026, 25,629 of them from Jamaame. Another 5,042 arrived from other regions ([EUAA 2026](https://www.euaa.europa.eu/print/pdf/node/31710)). In 2024 about 6,552 people from Bula Xaaji, Harbole and Miido settled in sites around Kismayo ([DRC, Aug 2024](https://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/rapid-needs-assessment-turqata-qarsa-shariifadda-basra-bilicsan-gasho-kismayo-lower-jubba-somalia-25th-august-2024)).

## Work and money

- **Fishing:** Bajuni fishers paid $3 for a block of ice in Kismayo. One night's trip brings in about 40 kg of fish ([FAO](https://fao.org/emergencies/resources-repository/news/detail/Somalia-FAO-and-FCDO-provide-marginalized-fisherfolks-with-ice-for-the-first-time-in-Bajuni-Islands-/en)).
- **Herding:** drought killed whole herds. One family near Buulo-Haaji lost 35 cattle and 25 goats ([Radio Ergo via ReliefWeb](https://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/drought-hit-lower-juba-pastoralists-flee-towards-somali-kenyan-border)).
- **Prices:** staple foods rose 1% to 6% in Jubaland in August 2025 ([WFP](https://logcluster.org/sites/default/files/public/2025-08/wfp-somalia-joint-markets-and-supply-chain-update15th-august-2025.pdf)).

## Who governs

The Jubaland administration under Ahmed Madobe, based in Kismayo. Ties with the federal government began to ease after the President's visit in October 2025 ([AllAfrica](https://allafrica.com/stories/202510060048.html)). Jubaland forces, with Kenyan and Ethiopian forces, hold Kismayo, Afmadow, Dhobley, Dif, Kolbiyow, Ras Kamboni, Koday, Bulo Xaji and Bar Sanguni. Al-Shabaab holds Jamaame, Hagar, Mido, Berhani and Badhaadhe towns and much of rural Afmadow, as of 31 March 2026 ([EUAA 2026](https://www.euaa.europa.eu/print/pdf/node/31710)). Jubaland's fisheries ministry worked with FAO to bring ice machines to the Bajuni Islands.

## What people face now

- **26 November 2025:** at least 21 civilians were killed in an air strike or ground operation in Jamaame.
- **2025 to early 2026:** 4,304 people were evicted, and aid access is heavily limited across most of Kismayo.
- **January 2026:** 50% of people were short of food or worse ([EUAA 2026](https://www.euaa.europa.eu/print/pdf/node/31710)). Drought pushed herders towards Kulbiyow, where host families share one meal a day ([ReliefWeb](https://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/drought-hit-lower-juba-pastoralists-flee-towards-somali-kenyan-border)).

## Top needs

1. Food and income for displaced families around Kismayo and Kulbiyow.
2. Clean water and shelter in displacement sites.
3. Help after eviction: papers, new sites and services.
4. A fresh start for herders who lost their animals, and for Bajuni fishers.
5. Schools and health care for children and new mothers.

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