Authorities in Budi County of Eastern Equatoria State have forcefully rescued a 23-year-old lady who was kidnapped as blood compensation after her brother committed murder.
On April 28, a pupil (not named) was killed by his colleague after they had a misunderstanding at a place known as Farak-Sika in Ngari Payam of Budi County.
The relatives of the deceased boy in Chukudum, then seized the cousin sister of the killer to compensate for the life of their relation. This prompted Budi County authorities to send a team to peacefully discuss the release of the lady which the deceased’s family rejected.
Budi County Commissioner, Akileo Mboya Peter Anyanga, told Radio Tamazuj on Monday that he was left with no option but to use force to rescue the woman from their custody and keep her at the county headquarters while hunting for the killer.
“We sent the people there to go and handle the issue but there was a bit of resistance, so it was brought back to me and of course as the leader of the community, we don’t fear those kinds of threats,” Commissioner Mboya explained. “So, I had to go with a team, with the police to the funeral area, and talked to the people to release the girl but unfortunately they could not understand the peaceful way. We had to exercise the law by getting the girl by force from them.”
He said that the practice of girl child compensation is an illegal and wrongful act and disclosed that the county authorities are searching for the suspected killer to bring him to book.
“We cannot entertain these kinds of activities. This girl child blood compensation is a crime against humanity because it is against human rights. You cannot pay a human being with another human being,” Mbayo warned. “It is a crime and we tackle this seriously and we condemn it because a criminal is a criminal. Up to now, the government is hunting the criminal who killed the schoolboy. We should work together. We got the lady, the lady is with us safely with the county authority.”
He cautioned the communities against the practice and urged them to end it immediately.
Budi Women chairperson, Flora Anyu, condemned the practice of girl child compensation and said there is a need for massive awareness of the dangers of some negative cultural practices.
“If people are not well informed, they will continue practicing these things. There is a need to talk to the communities about the disadvantages of taking a girl child for compensation," Anyu said. “We are condemning this act, which is why we informed the police to rescue the girl because we are seeing it as a bad act. Someone kills a person and then they bring another person, instead of looking for that person who killed. So we are condemning it.”
She advised women to resist the practice and raise their voices against it.