The police in Eastern Equatoria State have attributed rising insecurity to poverty and the possession of illegal guns by unauthorized individuals in the community.
Police Commissioner Maj. Gen. James Monday Enoka told Radio Tamazuj that civilians are more armed than the organized forces, creating a threatening security situation in the state.
The state has recently registered several communal conflicts that led to the loss of lives and properties which officials attribute to revenge killings and cattle raids.
“There is poverty. Someone who does not have anything to eat will go and steal because they do not have the capacity or a job. There are several reasons for this rising insecurity. Cattle raids are increasing because youth want cows for marriage and they have guns,” he explained. “They cannot be hungry while they have guns to loot. The presence of guns in the hands of civilians plays a big role in looting and communal conflicts. These are the signs and it is the role of police to prevent crime.”
Gen. Monday said his forces are trying their best with the graduation of a new batch of police officers to maintain law and order.
“We have opened up to six police stations in Torit County and Magwi County. We also opened a training center here in Torit County in Himodonge and we are training community police to reduce crime. We have formed joint security forces comprised of the army, police, and National Security Service (NSS) to deal with criminals,” he said. “We have arrested several lawbreakers and this year we arrested over 700 and we forwarded them to court and they were convicted for different crimes.”
“We are also engaged in civil-military relations training to create confidence between the civilians and the men in uniform and we also hold several weekly meetings to understand the roles of the different units of government,” Gen. Monday added.
When asked about the challenges the police face in combating crime, the police chief said that civilians have more guns and ammunition than the police.
“The reason is because of this arms embargo that restricts South Sudan from importing guns, so, we have few guns and bullets and it is a big challenge. We are supposed to be more armed than civilians to combat crimes. Secondly, we do not have enough vehicles to combat crime. Dealing with insecurity requires a lot of movement and even with the few vehicles we have, cannot manage because of lack of money,” he elucidated. “Also, some places do not have telephone networks and this cripples police work in some areas. We also have poor roads that affect security work because security personnel cannot quickly respond to a situation. Finally, the state is very big and requires a big force to manage security.”
He said the country lacks money and government employees are suffering because they have gone for 10 months without receiving salaries.
“However, there is no threat in South Sudan because the government has a presence in all states, In Eastern Equatoria State, our government is strong and it is doing everything possible for the organized forces to do their job,” Gen. Monday stated.
He encouraged civilians to abide by law and order, stop taking the law into their hands, and report crimes to the relevant authorities.