Traders in South Sudan’s Yei town have raised concerns about increased night robberies in different market centers in Yei town.
On Tuesday, several traders at the Hawker Market in Yei town stormed the office of the mayor and the chamber of commerce in Yei town demanding the local government to beef up night security patrols and protect businesses.
Speaking on behalf of the traders, Edward Luba, the chairperson of the chamber of commerce in the state said eight shops were broken into by robbers on Monday night and goods worth millions of South Sudanese Pounds lost.
“We need night patrols and arrested thieves be sent to court and punished. Traders are paying taxes to the government and we demand that the government deploys security monitors in all the markets,” Luba appealed.
For his part, Yei River state deputy mayor Khamis Noah Kissanga confirmed that at least eight shops have been broken into by thieves at the market.
“We have a security protection force deployed to the markets and they are now working at night hours to patrol all the markets in Yei town so that we don’t record cases of night robbery again,” he said
Noah noted that an investigation has been launched to crack down on the criminals.