A mother and a sister of a woman who broke the Saint Mary’s statue at Our Lady of Holy Rosary Catholic Parish in Torit, Eastern Equatoria State, have been arrested.
Reports indicated that the two were arrested and detained on Friday by armed police, who went to their home, accompanied by a Torit advocate, Anthony Beda.
A close family member, who requested anonymity for fear of arrest, told Radio Tamazuj on Saturday that the security forces entered their home, threatening the family members before arresting the mother and daughter.
She said that upon their arrival at the police station, the two were detained after being ordered to surrender their bags, without being told the reason for the arrest.
The reason for the arrest of the two remains unclear, but family members suspect it was in connection to the breaking of the church statue.
Earlier, the Nigerian Parish Priest at Our Lady of Holy Rosary Church, Fr Anthony Odoemlam, confirmed receiving US$3,500 compensation from the family of the 20-year-old woman who intentionally broke the statue months ago.
The young woman broke the statue during the Easter Sunday Mass last April. She was locked up at the Torit Central Police Station before the family members paid US$500 and deposited land documents for her release. A letter pleading for pardon had reportedly been submitted to the church.
A family member, who spoke off record, said that the police were still holding their US$500 and the land documents. The relative alleged that the Torit police were demanding SSP5,000 daily charges for the custody of the land documents from last May.
The suspected woman, who is said to have come from another undisclosed Christian Church, was reportedly protesting the Catholics ‘worshipping and praising’ Mary the mother of Jesus.
Fr Odoemelam told the media that the Church had received the compensation from the woman’s family for the purchase of another statue in Nigeria.
The South Sudanese laws do not allow the police to arrest a person without an explanation and the production of a warrant. However, it was not clear whether the Church’s lawyer Beda was in possession of the arrest warrant.
Eastern Equatoria State Police Spokesperson Maj Justine Kileopus confirmed the arrest, saying that the two women were put in jail without the complainant giving the details of the offence committed.
“I cannot explain much because I have not gotten the details of who is the accused and complainant,” he said.
Efforts to reach lawyer Beda were fruitless.