Combating crimes end with punishment
On Tuesday, authorities in Kapoeta South County of Eastern Equatoria State arrested about 10suspected armed robbers.
The suspects were accused of robbing people along the Torit-Kapoeta-Narus highway.
The national security service, that carried out the raid, seized an unspecified number of valuables, among them cell phones, laptops, luggage, and firearms from the suspects.
This comes after the authorities received complaints about the increasing cases of highway robbery, looting, and killing in an area called Camp-15 and along Narus road of Kapoeta East County.
This is the second time that armed robbers have been arrested in the area. Last year, on December 29, suspected criminals linked to the road ambushes in Lamurunyang, Kapoeta South County, were arrested in a security operation conducted by governor Louis Lobong Lojore.
The suspects were accused of ambushing some vehicles that were travelling from Torit to Kapeota which led to the killing of five passengers.
While this is a very credible effort being made by the state government to combat crimes along highways, there is no way the government can combat crimes without punishing the culprits. Arresting the suspect and arraigning him are two different steps. It all must take place to serve as a lesson to others.
It is important to ensure that justice always takes its course because, out of the 29 people arrested last year, not even one of them was reported to have been prosecuted in the court of justice.
This sometimes makes one wonder whether the suspects are still in detention or have been set free. Thus, the inability to report beyond just the arresting of the suspects makes the work of the media look incomplete if they cannot report on the legal procedures leading to justice.
The authorities need to bring those suspects to court, take them through the legal prerogatives and charge them accordingly. This will also serve as a lesson to those who tend to participate in criminal activities.
You can imagine that last year, 29 people were arrested from the same area, and on Tuesday, about 10 of them were re-arrested. This is so weird because it seems like the arrest of the first group did not serve as a prime example of punishment by the authorities. Or, are there invisible hands that make the business very lucrative?
Therefore, the 10 suspects arrested on Tuesday need to be tried in court, and if proven guilty, they must be punished according to the law. This is the only possible way to combat crimes. Otherwise, we cannot stop the vices if the suspects are not punished in a court of law.
