The police in the Lakes State capital, Rumbek, confirmed that they are holding Akhol Paul Manyang Magom, the former mayor of Rumbek Municipality Council, and other suspects for allegedly cutting the head of an elderly woman with a machete during a land dispute in Rumbek Central County.
Lt. Col. Elijah Mabor Makuac, the police spokesperson in the state, told Radio Tamazuj on Monday that the incident occurred on Sunday at 6:30 pm in Rumbek’s Akuac residential area.
“The dispute happened at the home of Manyang Magom, and a woman was seriously wounded on the head with a panga by the son of Manyang Magom, who is a former mayor of Rumbek,” he explained. “The police were informed, and we rushed there and apprehended everybody who was involved in the fight, including the perpetrator, who was a former town mayor, and they are in custody. A case has been opened at Rumbek Central Police Station, and investigations are ongoing.”
“The victim was taken to Rumbek State Hospital for treatment,” Lt. Col. Mabor added.
Rumbek State Hospital Director Dr. Terran Madit Terran on Monday confirmed to this publication that they are treating a 50-year-old woman whose head was cut by a blade.
“Yes, the former mayor indeed injured his uncle’s 50-year-old wife’s head with a panga, but her condition is now stable here in the hospital because I saw her last night,” he said. “The old lady sustained some major injuries on the head, but no fracture. She bled a lot because of the severity of the wound she sustained on the head. The wound was dressed, the bleeding was arrested, and she received treatment. This morning, she was very stable and doing well.”
Meanwhile, Daniel Laat Kon, a civil society activist in Lakes State, condemned the attack on the woman.
“We have seen the photos of the old woman chopped on the head with a panga by the former mayor circulating on social media. The injuring of the old woman is a grave violation of women’s and human rights by the former mayor,” he said. “The police should investigate the matter thoroughly, and justice must be served because we have been seeing a rise in gender-based violence.”
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