Five arrested in Warrap after honey-harvesting fire kills five girls

KUAJOK – Authorities in South Sudan’s Warrap State have detained five men after a fire they allegedly set to harvest honey spread out of control, killing five girls and injuring three others.

The incident occurred on Dec. 23 in Tonj North County while the victims were cutting bundles of grass to thatch huts.

The suspects told investigators they had no intention of causing harm but were using fire to smoke out bees from holes in the ground to collect honey.

“We have managed to arrest the five young men who say they were only collecting the honey which inhabited the holes and for that reason they asked one of the boys for the match box and/or (Zennat) to light the fire which unintentionally flare out and burnt the grassy vegetation and fled to the area where girls were cutting grass and caught them inside on Dec. 23, 2025 leaving 5 dead and 3 injured,” Tonj North County Commissioner Agany Lok Agany told Sudans Post on Wednesday.

The commissioner said the suspects have been transferred to Warrap Town for further investigation.

“There is an evidence as one of the boys said he gave them (Zennat) and they also admit that they don’t have an ill-intention against the young girls and therefore the law will take its course,” Agany said.

The commissioner added that the government would implement stricter measures to prevent unregulated burning of vegetation.

“As government we will take measures to ensure that the communities in and around the area where the conflagration occurred never burnt the vegetation anyhow,” he said.

Agany thanked the Leer and Noi communities for cooperating with the police and assured the families of the victims that the legal process would be followed, stating they should “wait for the verdict from the prosecuting authorities.”

In South Sudan’s pastoralist communities, grass is frequently burned during the dry season to encourage the growth of fresh pasture for cattle. However, these fires often spread to residential areas, leading to the destruction of homes and loss of life.