By Charles K Mark
About 80 residents gathered in Mugwo Payam of Yei River County of Central Equatoria state in South Sudan, to witness reinstatement of a police post that closed down during 2016 conflict.
Chanting that they have faced unlimited lawlessness and violence due to absence of law enforcement personnel in the area, the residents said the post would help boost security of the community.
Janethy Maika, a female representative aid lack of law enforcers made many of their children (Boys and Girls) to abandon school to follow peers.
“Most of our adolescent girls and boys have dropped out of school and picked up bad habits. But today, community members like me are assured that our children and youth will now understand the importance of being law-abiding citizens,” Maika exclaimed.
Mugwo Payam of Yei River County is one of the most affected areas by escalation of fight in Central Equatoria region since war broke out in 2016.
People in that community were internally displaced and others forced to flee to the neighboring Uganda, DR Congo and the Central Republic of Africa as refugees.
The County Commissioner of Yei River County, Aggrey Cyrus Kanyikwa, a native of the same community admitted that indeed the affected households suffered sexual violence, looting and destruction of property during and after the war.
Kanyikwa applauded the contribution by the UN peace keeping mission in the country (UNMISS) in Yei to reestablish durable security and stability.
Mr. Kanyikwa called for peaceful coexistence among Mugwo Payam Community members urging them to maintain law and order as a pathway to attract returnees.
“With only two police officers currently stationed here, the plan is for Mugwo to receive reinforcement from Yei to boost law enforcement capabilities” commissioner Kanyikwa echoed.
He urged communities to positively contribute to development by using locally generated materials, tools, and labor.
“Now is the time to forget the past and forge a future together that is prosperous, has genuine peace, and delivery of services to our people,” the Commissioner concluded.
The police post is said to have been reinstated under the UN mission’s Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) spearheaded by the Protection, Transition and Reintegration Section.
Sonny Onyegbula, Head of the UNMISS Sub-Field Office and Human Rights Officer warned that the renovated police post should send a strong signal to criminals, especially those who commit sexual violence that no crime will go unpunished.
“I am glad you now have a law-and-order facility close to home. The South Sudanese police will be able to conduct regular patrols along key access routes into and out of Mugwo, including in farming lands, to detect and deter crime,” he assured.
The police post comprises three offices, a counter, and a store, as well as full provisions for detained women, men, and juveniles to have separate cells, an overview from UNMISS revealed.