By Ijoo Bosco
Eastern Equatoria State government has refuted allegations of illegal checkpoints managed by South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) extorting money from innocent civilians.
The allegations surfaced after a lawmaker representing SPLA-IO from Constituency 2, Torit County, raised concerns about the presence of illegal checkpoints in Himodonge Payam of Torit County.
According to Vitale Ofire Rafael, two secret illegal checkpoints are operating in Himodonge Payam: one at Torit Imotong Junction and another in Keberk Boma where police are being deployed by the Ikotos County administration.
“As we speak now, the soldiers who are at Torit-Imotong Junction are extorting money from poor women and youth who are struggling to put food on the table for their families amidst this economic hardship,” he said.
“This checkpoint is an activation of Shirikat checkpoint that was already removed and the same soldiers are now transferred it to Himodonge, this has affected the poor citizens as well all know Katire, Imotong, and Himodonge areas contribute largely as a breadbasket of Torit, however, that could be the reason why goods in the market are getting high every day because of this unlawful collection of money,” he further claimed.
For his part, Eastern Equatoria State Minister of Local Government and Law Enforcement Agencies, Peter Lokeng Lotone, stated that the State only maintains roadblocks to curb illegal logging within the area.
According to Peter Lokeng, the checkpoint along Himodonge is an SSPDF outpost aimed at providing security in the area.
“We understand the checkpoints in Shirikat and Himodonge were not established to collect money. We are trying to deploy the checkpoint here, having transferred it away from Shirikat,’ he said.
“We instructed them to establish an outpost there for the government, for the SSPDF to protect that area. There are no other checkpoints there. The checkpoint we are aware of is where there is a rate collector for the local government who collects money with a receipt. There are no checkpoints for soldiers there; we have removed all those checkpoints,” said Lokeng.
He added that in late December, the Eastern Equatoria State government removed all illegal checkpoints, leaving only two checkpoints in Himodonge and Kiwa for controlling loggers and for security purposes.
Mr. Lokeng strongly denounced the lawmaker’s statement for tarnishing the name of the state government, calling it a fabricated message aimed at silencing community-led efforts to curb illegal resource extraction from the area.
“I also want to assure all the state’s communities that the state government has fully implemented the Governor’s Forum resolution of removing all illegal checkpoints across Eastern Equatoria State,” he concluded.