A traditional chief in Jur River County of Western Bahr el Ghazal state has been admitted to Wau Teaching Hospital after being detained and beaten by SPLA-IO soldiers at Kuanya military base, his family said.

Uraya Dut, a  former chief of the Roc-Roc Dong area, was arrested Thursday evening and taken to the SPLA-IO base, where he was allegedly beaten.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Friday, Chief Dut’s son, Marko Uchuir Uraya, said: “What happened is that a person was demanding a cow from another. “The case was between two men, Goi and Luony, but the truth was established that Mr Luony had the cow of Mr Goi and he was ordered to pay back the cow, so Luony brought it back, and it was so small, and the cow later died under the chief’s custody that is why the cow owner renewed the case by arresting the chief.”

 “Then the complainer went and opened a case against Uray, but Uraya told him that your cow died and I cannot compensate you, and because the complainer is from the SPLA-IO, he took a decision to open a case at the SPLA-IO military base that is why the chief was taken and tortured there,” he explained.

Marko said his father was beaten before being taken to the military barrack.

The SPLA-IO commander in Kuanya, Brigadier General Bol Wek, dismissed the claims when contacted. He said the wounds on the chief’s legs were motorbike injuries after he fell off a bike.

Wek, however, said the local chief was released under his order to enable him to go for treatment at Wau Teaching Hospital.

“I ordered his release so that he can go for treatment, and after that, he will be returned for his case. That is why he was released, but we did not torture him,” he concluded.

The opposition SPLA-IO is commanded by First Vice President Riek Machar.