Unity police capture 10 men accused of rape and cattle raiding
By Bonifacio Taban Kuich
February 23, 2012 (BENTIU) – Authorities in Unity State have captured 10 men who are alleged to be members of criminal gangs accused of committing rape and stealing cows within Rubkotna County and neighbouring counties.
The local police chief vowed to arrest all criminals in the state adding: “I want this county to be in peace and I don’t want to see any thieves to be around this area”.
Opiew said his police force were trying to improve the security situation among civilians and to make sure that laws are followed. He called upon parents across the state to advise their sons not to become involved in banditry or cattle raiding, which are common in South Sudan.
Still recovering from decades of conflict, South Sudan is one of the poorest regions of the world. This, mixed with a high proliferation of small arms left over from the civil war and insurgencies with the seven-month-old country, have made maintaining security a struggle for the police and army.
Chuol Par Nhial, one of the men accused of rape and steeling cattle, admitted the offenses but says he has been badly tortured at the detention centre in Rubkotna where he is being held. He told Sudan Tribune that hoped the authorities would pardon him, promising that he would not commits any more criminal activities.
He asked the government to mediate with the people he had stolen from and said it was right that he had been imprisoned.
Nhial advised young men who are raid cattle to abandon the practice. Cattle are in many ways the currency of South Sudan, demonstrating status and bridal wealth.
Since his arrest, Nhial said that his parents had not visited him, because of the nature of the crimes he is accused of.
The Rubkotna authorities have confirmed that five of the women who were raped have open cases with their husbands to take the men to court.
(ST)