A senior official in the Government of South Sudan said insufficient military training has contributed to an increase of brutal and indiscipline behaviour among military personnel.
Undersecretary at the national ministry of culture, youth and sport, Juk Madut Juk, was brutally beaten by military personnel on New Year’s Eve in Wau airport minutes after landing in a plane from Juba.He said in a statement distributed through the internet that he had the misfortune of arriving at Wau airport on the same day that President Salva Kiir Mayardit was due there, coming from his Christmas holiday in Akon, Warrap State.
Dr Madut said he and his two brothers who came to pick him up were brutally attacked by a SPLA unit, supposedly stationed there to secure the airport for the President, and was left with one bloodied eye, bruised face and a concussion.
He told Bakhita Radio that the army is not mandated to beat and maltreat the citizens that they should protect.
He added that the soldiers have to learn about their responsibility towards civilians during their training to avoid acts of violence like he experienced.
Dr Madut said he thought the times where soldiers mistreated civilians were over with the independence, but his beating in Wau shattered his dream.
Dr Madut explained that his physical pain and humiliation on a Saturday morning on New Year’s Eve in Wau will surely heal.
However, he added, a pain coming from a sense of worry for his country will remain most unbearable.