20 suspects arrested over killing in wedding ceremony

At least twenty people were arrested in Lowoi Payam over the murder of three people at a traditional wedding ceremony last week in Torit County.

The area commissioner, Jacob Atari Albano, praised the security organs and the traditional chief for apprehending the suspects.

Atari said the perpetrators of the attack were arrested on Sunday and are now under police custody in Torit.

He said the suspected in-laws are with the police for further investigation to identify the main cause of the disagreement during the ceremony.

The incident took place on April 24 in Lowoi Payam, between the Ohirai and Ohilo communities of Lowoi Payam in Torit County.

According to the commissioner, a disagreement arose between the two families, and they could not agree on how much the groom was to pay for his wife.

The girl’s family wanted to apply the 35-cow rule that was being used by the old rules for the youth age group limit.

The man’s family, however, insisted that the old rule could not apply since the term of the old youth group limit had elapsed. They wanted to pay 25 cows in line with the current rule.

Atari added that after the disagreement, both families rushed home to collect their weapons, only to return before firing indiscriminately.

Police and security personnel were dispatched immediately to the scene of the incident to defuse an escalation of tensions in the area and stop any revenge attack.

“It was the hard work of our chief in Lowoi North, Joseph Alfred, and the security that they managed to call me that 20 people are now under them to be brought to Torit,” Atari said.

The commissioner said despite the arrest, tension remains high among the two in-laws despite sharing the common culture and norms of the Otuho community.