Residents in Yei River County of Central Equatoria State have said the security situation in and around the town has greatly improved over the last three months.
Several local residents said they can now move long distances to the villages and within the town at night without any security challenges.
Elisama Thomas, a resident of Yei, appreciated the government and the security agencies for working hard in providing protection and promoting good civil-military relations in the villages and within the town.
“There is a relatively good improvement for now because I have been moving out to Sopiri village for cultivation and also going up to Mugo and it is very okay,” Elisama said. “But what I want the government to do is more security improvement and protection of the civilians so that we can now believe there is peace and stability in Yei.”
Nura Rose, another resident of Yei River County also said that many women are now feeling more secure and better protected compared to the past.
“The security is now better than in the past, we can now move to some of the villages but deep into the villages it is not all that safe for the women and we need better security so that we can look for our food,” Rose said.
For his part, Major General Yoasa Lujang Kamba said the security situation in the whole Yei River County is calm and under control. Lujang said the security apparatus has been working hard to maintain security and law and order in the former Yei River State.
“The general security situation in the defunct Yei River State is calm and the security apparatus are at watch because we have usually experienced that towards Christmas there are a lot of problems but we are very vigilant to make sure that the security situation is under control,” Gen. Lujang said.
Commenting on the recent killing of Ofimani Gophine, the headmaster of Excel Secondary school, Gen. Lujang said the prime suspect has been arrested and is currently under remand pending investigations and court hearings.
“The suspect was arrested and he is currently remanded in the prison and we are gathering all the investigation information from all witnesses and after the investigations, we shall forward the case to the court for a ruling,” Gen. Lujang said.