AWEIL – The police in Aweil Town in South Sudan’s Northern Bahr El Ghazal State are holding two men accused of stabbing a man they alleged was stealing watermelons from their farm in Nyalath Payam, Aweil Centre County.
Nyalath Payam Administrator, Mr. Daniel Deng Deng, said the incident occurred when two brothers, working on a farm owned by a local businessman, confronted a man identified as Mabior Mabior. The brothers first accused Mabior of stealing their phone, and the following day, they claimed he tried to run away with several watermelons from the farm.
According to Deng, the brothers, identified as 21-year-old Malual Guot and 25-year-old Guot Guot, caught Mabior and began assaulting him. They stabbed him in the arm and neck before other farmers intervened and rescued him.
“It was shocking to everyone. The victim was bleeding heavily, so we rushed him to a local clinic for first aid before referring him to Aweil, where nurses are now treating him,” Deng said. “Afterwards, we arrested the two brothers who carried out the stabbing.”
Deng added that authorities are monitoring Mabior’s condition to ensure he recovers before the case is taken to court. He explained that Nyalath Payam lacks a proper detention facility, so the two brothers were transferred to Maper-Akot-Aru custody, where they will face trial alongside Mabior.
He emphasised the challenges of law enforcement in his payam, describing it as a remote farming area with a sparse population, making it difficult for residents to respond quickly in times of crisis. Deng called for the construction of a custody facility to prevent communities from taking the law into their own hands by killing suspects.
The administrator also lamented that theft and robbery cases are increasing in the payam, which lies deep in the bush.
Meanwhile, in Maper-Akot-Aru, residents reported discovering a body in a water-filled trench that was previously used as an excavation site. The deceased has not yet been identified. Authorities are working to trace the victim’s relatives and investigate the circumstances surrounding the death.
The discovery has sparked fear among Aweil residents, even as farmers experiment with new crops aimed at easing the economic hardships that contributed to a surge in crime earlier in the year.
