The police in Kapoeta East County, Eastern Equatoria State, say they are unable to respond to crime after their only vehicle broke down in May.
The department received the Landcruiser Pickup in 2022 from the state authorities, according to the inspector of police for Kapoeta East County.
However, Brig.-Gen. Kasmiro Okomos says it had already been used and just been repaired before it was handed over to the police.
After driving it for few months, the vehicle broke down in Narus town, where it is now parked at a garage.
As a result, he says this has affected their daily activities in the county because they are not able to reach remote payams and bomas to arrest crime suspects.
“I have to borrow a vehicle from the commissioner so that I can dispatch police personnel to a crime scene. Sometime when he has activities to do, it becomes difficult for us because this place is large and so many crimes,” Okomos told Singaita FM on Wednesday.
Common crimes there, according to media reports, include theft, sexual and gender-based violence, early and forced marriages, assaults, and night robberies.
The police officer believes that if the concerned authorities do not intervene soon, crime rates could spike, adding that “There is need to provide us with a vehicle to help us do our work here.”
Singaita 88.3 FM’s attempts to reach the commissioner of Police in Eastern Equatoria State via telephone were not immediately possible.