A 30-year-old man who deserted the National Security Service (NSS) in Torit, Eastern Equatoria State, was arrested on Monday after robbing road contractors at gunpoint last Friday along the Torit-Hiyalla highway.
Otioho Tirre stopped a vehicle belonging to Rhino and Universal Company which has been contracted to do bush clearance on the highway, near SSPDF’s Idolu military barracks, and robbed the occupants of 20,000 SSP, a bag, and a smartphone. He was apprehended by the local home guards, the Monyiemiji, of Murahatiha village while still in possession of the items he looted.
The Torit County commissioner, Jacob Attari, told radio Tamazuj Tuesday that the youth in Murahatiha Boma in Torit County identified and arrested the suspect.
“The Monyiemiji of Murahatiha managed to identify the criminal. When they went and arrested him, he actually accepted that he is the one who did it,” Commissioner Attari said. “In the past, the Murahatiha community made and signed an undertaking before the commissioner and governor that they will not tolerate any more criminals, so they apprehended him and called me.”
He added: “They took possession of the things taken from the driver including the phone but they found the money had been used. We rushed there and brought the criminal and I hand him to the authorities for further investigation.”
Commissioner Attari thanked the youth of Murahatiha for cooperating with the government and urged other villages in Hiyalla Payam to emulate them.
The Hiyalla Payam paramount chief, Galileo Ohide, confirmed the arrest and said the Monyimeiji are committed to peace and will ensure anybody jeopardizing the ongoing developments in the area will be arrested. He reassured the road contractors of security.
“This information is true and that person is called Otioho Tirre. He went and intimidated these people along the road while he was among the youth patrolling,” Chief Ohide explained. “They went and patrolled to protect the cattle and he escaped to the road. In the evening, a telephone call was made to investigate a robbery, so the Monyiemiji admitted that one person was missing, leading to the arrest.”
The Eastern Equatoria State director general of road and bridges, who is also the overseer of Juba-Torit-Kapoeta-Nadapal highway, Engineer Norman Charles Gideon, confirmed the robbery incident but said the road works were moving in smoothly.
“We cannot go into that because it is being handled by the honorable governor. You know we are not concerned about that because it was the commissioner who apprehended him,” Engineer Gideon said. “We sensitized them before and even as we talk we have Monyiemiji working with us on the road. The criminal is being handled by the commissioner.”