Torit Municipal Council authorities are holding two suspected gang members on suspicion for holding up pedestrians and burglary.
The two suspected criminals were arrested on Tuesday following reports of hold-ups, stabbings, and burglaries at night near the Eastern Equatoria State legislative Assembly s premises.
The mayor of Torit Municipal Council, Mustafa Albino Zachariah, told Radio Tamazuj Wednesday that the two suspected gangsters are being held at Torit’s police central division for further investigations. He said night robberies by gangs were on the rise in the town.
“On 10 October at around 11 pm, there was a wrong group of people who were stopping and robbing people around the legislative assembly and they stabbed a boy whose motorcycle they grabbed,” he said. “The boy was able to flee the scene and organize his friends who intervened and apprehended two of the suspected thugs and now they are in jail in Torit town.”
“The thugs were stopping anyone, even those driving, and intimidating them,” he added.
Mayor Albino however said security personnel had been deployed in the residential areas to check criminality and urged parents to monitor and take care of their children.
“The two people who were arrested they gave us very good information about the whereabouts of the thugs and we are going to make a plan to arrest them,” he said. “My appeal to parents is to look after their children. Let us cooperate to bring peace and tranquility to the town because security is everybody’s responsibility.”
Meanwhile, Abahala Inyiasio, the chief of the Longute residential area, said gangs are common in residential areas and create fear among and limit the movement of residents.
“The gangs cause fear among the people because they brandish things like pangas, spades, slashers and these are all harmful tools,” he said. “The use of these weapons is not helpful and the government should deal with these groups and anybody found possessing such weapons should be arrested and jailed.”