The latest news on recent crimes and crime-related events in South Sudan:
Roadside security checks in Juba
SPLA and police set up roadside checkpoints in many parts of Juba yesterday in a joint security operation. Security personnel were stopping vehicles and motorcyclists searching for handguns and other weapons.
Robbery at house in Wau
Armed robbers attacked the house of the SPLM state youth league chairman in Wau. SPLM youth league chairperson Abdaraman Dayia Abdaraman told Sudan Tribune that the incident took place at 1:00 a.m. He said the armed robbers took away 3,200 South Sudanese pounds. The robbers pointed a pistol through a window and ordered Abdaraman to open the door. Four entered the house and ordered the victim to sit on the floor and demanded to know where his money was and other valuables. They also went into the house of a close neighbour but they did not get anything there.
WBEG claims arrest of seven thieves
Western Bahr al Ghazal State’s government has claimed the arrest of seven thieves who allegedly broke into a shop in Hai Kosti in Wau town Thursday night and took iron sheets and a bicycle, according to a report by Radio Miraya. They were reportedly apprehended Thursday morning at Bahr Shergi.
Crime driving away traders in Wau
Foreign traders in Wau reopened shops earlier this week after a shutdown protest following the killing of two foreign traders. But sources said some traders reopened only to sell off remaining stocks before leaving the state. The Western Bahr El Ghazal Trade Chamber Chairman Wol Charles said the recent shutdown was only a mourning period for a slain trader, not a strike.
Central Equatoria State says its police force is too small
Central Equatoria Local Government Minister Gerald Francis told the state assembly this week that there are only 4,000 state police and the majority of them are deployed to guard private businesses. He said that centralization of South Sudan’s governance system has made it difficult for the state to recruit its own police forces. He urged for local recruitment of police “because the police from this state understand the language, understand the culture, they can do better.” Many of the police garrisoned in Juba come from other parts of the country.
SPLA officer harrasses passenger vehicle in Agok
Police in Agok say a senior SPLA officer attacked four passenger buses which he claimed had passed through his farm. The officer allegedly fired bullets in the air in an attempt to scare the drivers as they passed his property in Kor Rioch, south of Abyei Town, on Tuesday. Abyei Today also reported that he allegedly broke the vehicle’s windscreens with a stick. One of the drivers, Chol Abdallah, said the buses were in the middle of the road when the man attacked.
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