AWEIL – A 50-year-old man is being held in Aweil West County of South Sudan’s Northern Bahr El Ghazal state for allegedly setting fire to two huts after cattle entered his farm and destroyed his crops.
Bol Ngor Bak is accused of spearing a cow and subsequently setting fire to two huts belonging to the cattle owners in Riang-Angon village, Udhum Payam, on Wednesday afternoon.
Atak Wol Kiir, police inspector at Udhum Payam of Aweil West County, told Sudans Post on Thursday the suspect got angry, speared a cow, and then entered the homes of the executive chief, whose cows had damaged his crops, and set the byre on fire.
“What happened at 12:00 PM yesterday is that a man called Bol Ngor Bak set the two huts on fire, the house of his relative who is an executive chief called Ken Machol, and also ran to the house of the SSPDF officer who is in Wun-yiik military headquarters and set his hut on fire as well,” said Kiir.
Kiir stated that the decisions were unexpected for many, leaving numerous villagers questioning as they attempted to rescue the cows and goats from the hut.
“Nobody drove the cows to his farm; some of the cattle were unattended to or weren’t being looked after, and after he was apprehended as people ran after him and caught him,” he said.
“They brought him here. I asked him why he made that nasty decision, but he was just quiet and unable to give accounts or versions in an eloquent way.”
He disclosed that the suspect has been moved to Aweil town due to concerns for his safety from the owners of the large huts that he set on fire.
Kiir encouraged the local community to remain calm when problems occur, stating that if cattle damage crops, individuals should report the issue to the police instead of taking matters into their own hands.
He stated that the committee can visit the site to observe the damage in order to facilitate compensation, but they should not take the law into their own hands.
Local leaders in the communities have been encouraging livestock owners to manage their cattle or goats in order to prevent tensions or conflicts that may arise, similar to the incident being discussed.
