By Hou Akot Hou
Traffic police in Northern Bahr El Ghazal State have issued a one-week ultimatum to owners of vehicles with tinted windows to remove the screens.
According to the traffic police, the directive aimed at combating rising crime rates, including the disappearance of wealthy individuals.
The incidents are linked to the use of tinted vehicles by perpetrators to conceal their identities while committing offenses.
Acting Director of Traffic Police in Northern Bahr El Ghazal, Col. Gabriel Ungom confirmed the order, stating that the ultimatum takes immediate effect and is active for one week.
“The state government has declared that all vehicle owners whose vehicles have tinted windows must remove them because crimes are on the rise, and people are disappearing without a trace. Also, some individuals disappear with girls in these tinted cars,” he explained.
Ungom emphasized that the order is a blanket directive, indiscriminate and applicable to everyone.
“Nobody is above the law. This is meant to reduce crimes, and anyone who thinks they are the son of a chief or an officer cannot be exempted. All tinted windows must be removed for easy identification of the occupants in case a problem unfolds,” he asserted.
The state has recently experienced a surge in crime cases. Aweil South County, for instance, has launched a massive night patrol targeting groups of young men who have formed “mafias” or associations, carrying out attacks on local citizens within the county.
In a separate development, police in Aweil East County reported that a mentally impaired individual allegedly strangled and killed a woman and her young child in Malual-baai payam last week.
The incident caused alarm among the local population. Police have issued alerts, warning residents to be wary of such behaviors against civilians in the villages.
Other residents in the payam reported that local civilians, acting out of anger, subsequently killed the mentally ill suspect.
However, the payam administrator could not be reached for confirmation when contacted by phone.