Aerial view of Nimule border town | File photo

Six religious leaders have been detained by the police in Nimule town, Eastern Equatoria State.

50-year-old Daniel Magok, 50; Lazarus Chol, 58; Peter Alier, 50; Abraham Makech, 70; Joseph Akol, 47; and Joseph Kom, 72, are charged with public disturbance.

This came after the clerics reportedly fought among themselves over the leadership of the church.

There have been some wrangles allegedly over who will lead the Episcopal Church in Nimule.

According to the police, the matter has been ongoing for the last two years.

Last Sunday, the local pastors reportedly engaged in violent attacks on each other at the church premise.

“We sat with them several times, but it failed. This was the third time they fought and that’s why I opened a case against them,” Maj. David Kasmiro, Nimule Police Inspector, told Eye Radio.

The police moved in and arrested six of them. Police Inspector in Nimule says some of the ring leaders are still at large.

The pastors are being charged under Section 177 of the South Sudan Penal Code, 2008.

It says whoever commits an act or illegal omission which causes any common injury, danger, or annoyance to the public… commits the offense of public nuisance.