SPLA soldiers accused of rape and theft during Jonglei disarmament
By John Actually
March 19, 2012 (BOR) – As Jonglei state’s disarmament campaign enters its first week the process has been rocked by allegations that soldiers raped a women in Pariak village on Monday and that soldiers were also responsible for stealing money from Bor police station.
Pariak village is about 36 kilometers south of Bor, the Jonglei state capital, on the road to Juba.
The woman, whose identity has not been disclosed, was forced out of her house at gun point late at night with her four year old daughter and raped by both soldiers before she was set free, Majak told Sudan Tribune.
He said that the two suspected rapists were caught and handed over to their camp at Malual Chat, five miles away from Bor town, where they were imprisoned.
One of the rapists has confessed to the crime. The other suspect has denied involvement, according to Majak who was at the police station were interrogation took place.
Jonglei state’s Minister of Legal Affairs, James Mayen Oka, visited the area to meet the rape victim and local police.
“I am not going to make any statement over this issue. I just came to check if the forms are correctly filled and to see if the police have recorded the complaints of the woman accurately”, said Oka.
Jonglei state governor, Kuol Manyang, said it was shocking news if it is proved be true, promising to campaign to end violence against women. The village chief, Samuel Pandek said he is ready to follow the case up to the end.
Attempts to reach the SPLA spokesman and the disarmament information officer failed due to bad telephone network connections.
The SPLA became the official army of South Sudan when the country became independent in July 2011, as part of a 2005 peace deal between the political wing of the SPLA and Khartoum.
International observers and human rights groups say that the SPLA still has long way to go to transform itself from a guerrilla rebel movement to a disciplined national army.
23,000 SSP STOLEN FROM BOR POLICE STATION
Police in Bor town have accused SPLA forces deployed in the state for a high profile disarmament campaign for stealing 23,000 SSP ($8,300) from the office of the director of the Criminal Investigation Department in Jonglei state.
The theft allegedly took place on March 14, the day that Salva Kiir launched the disarmament process in response to large scale cattle raids and tribal feuding over the last few months.
Kiir has warned that force will be used if groups do not voluntarily hand over their weapons.
The director of Jonglei’s Criminal Investigation Department, Col. Chol Achiek, told Sudan Tribune that he blamed SPLA soldiers conducting disarmament for looting his office in his absence. Around 15,000 soldiers have been deployed across Jonglei, South Sudan’s largest state, to carry out the campaign.
Col. Achiek said the soldiers allegedly stole laboratory equipment that was meant to be used to investigate crimes, as well as a security camera, special ink for criminal cases and other items.
James Magany, a policeman on duty when the soldiers raided the police station, accused them of breaking into the office and taking 12 pistols and some AK47 rifles.
However, Jonglei state Governor, Kuol Manyang, told Sudan Tribune that the loss of the money was due to carelessness by the officials concerned.
“Why did they keep such a big of amount of money in the box, not even in the safe at the office when there is a bank for keeping money. There was some sort of ignorance and carelessness in that”, Manyang said.
(ST)