Residents of Torit town in South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria State are concerned about rampant killings in and outside the town and demand immediate disarmament of the local population.
In just one week, six people were killed in and around Torit town, most of whom authorities say are perpetrated by unknown gunmen.
On 26th November an officer of the National Security Service was gunned down in Torit town, followed by the killing of his brother, also a National Security officer, the next day. The brothers were buried in the same grave.
While on 28th November the body of an SSPDF soldier was found in Kideopo valley along Torit-Kapoeta road.
On 1st December, a 48-year-old man was killed and thrown into Kinetye River, while on 2nd December 2020, a boda-boda rider was discovered dead and another is still missing along Torit-Hiyalla road.
A resident of Torit town, Omita Jackson Gerald, said the government should disarm the local population to stop the spate of wanton killings because the proliferation of illegal arms has made them adopt a mindset of criminality.
“This is what will spoil the reputation of Torit County generally, this is what pains us a lot because we need peace now. The government should open their eyes to get real solutions to this,” Omita said. “We are now going for peace but some people are killing each other because guns make them stubborn. The government should open eyes to disarm these places.”
Oling Oliang Dominic, another resident expressed frustration over the continuous murder incidences and urged the government to use a peaceful approach instead of military means.
“Getting a human being is not easy but you just kill someone innocently just because of these mere cows, this is what pains me a lot. I hear on the radio every day of frequent killings outside and now it has come inside Torit,” Oling lamented. “This thing started in Payams and now it graduated to the town. The government should intervene, they should teach people so that they love themselves. They can organize peace awareness campaigns especially for the youth.”
“Youth should be empowered with structures in the grassroots and women too so that they champion peace in villages. We cannot afford to bring soldiers and cause destruction in the villages because it will instead worsen the issue. Guns will not solve any problem,” Oling added.
Anthony Ohide Oriaja, the chief of Imurok Payam in Torit County voiced sadness and urged the government to come up with a law that will publicly fire squad criminals.
“This is something very bad and as a chief, I am not happy with our civilians who started killing themselves. If any village starts any conflict, it has to be dealt with,” Chief Ohide said. “The government should make a law to deal with any village or people who kill people on the roads or villages. The government should surround the suspected area and arrest criminals and publicly shoot them as a deterrent.”
“We the South Sudanese are now for peace and we don’t want civilians to die anyhow. We also don’t want government personnel to be shot like that one that happened in Torit town so the government should come up with a law that will deal with killers,” he added.
The secretary-general for Civil Society Network in Eastern Equatoria State (CSNEES), Ocheng Philip Clement, said “If you move to the local areas and you hear the talk of the people, people are talking with bad intentions, people are questioning what is happening,” Ochieng said. “We are all not happy and now we have reached December when everyone expects to celebrate Christmas peacefully but now the way we are seeing bad things just increasing daily.”
"The government has a long hand, they have to patrol, including all the organized forces, police, civil defense and the rest let them be mixed to patrol the local areas,” Ocheng advised.
Major Justine Kleopus Takuru, the Eastern Equatoria State police spokesperson confirmed the rise in insecurity in the state and said the police have tightened the security in residential areas to curb crimes.
“As police, we have scattered our forces and these crimes are different and I can confirm to you that there is an increased crime these days and of course there are reasons but we are strengthening security and our meetings continue,” Takuru said. “Our people should not fear it. Every time crimes increase we are also tightening up security, we are working hard to see next what will happen.”
He blamed citizens for not sharing security information with the government.
“I am blaming our citizens in the town here specifically because one has information but will not tell. At least they must know something but they don’t tell except through investigations and pressure which is wrong. If you give us information, as police, we cannot bring you as a witness, we will find our ways of capturing criminals so don’t fear because security is everyone’s responsibility,” the police spokesperson urged.
Meanwhile, the acting governor and the current secretary-general of the now-defunct Torit State, Emmanuel Ochiti Ottafiano, said the government is taking all necessary steps to calm the situation and restore order.
“This does not mean that as an individual you don't have to take care of yourself and all of us have to participate to see that security improves in our town and our community,” Ochiti said.
He further called on the citizens to report any incidences and information to the concerned authority for action to be taken, saying security is a collective responsibility.