The commissioner of Central Equatoria State’s Kajo-Keji County said three people were shot dead and a boy injured on Saturday evening when bandits suspected to have crossed from Uganda opened random fire in a market in Kangapo Two Payam.
Wani Jackson Mule told Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday morning that the incident left the area chief, a nurse, and a farmer dead and a boy injured in the leg, causing panic in the area.
“The incident happened on Saturday at about 7 p.m. in one Bori Boma of Kangapo Two Payam along our border with Uganda,” he reported. “Well-armed bandits crossed from Uganda using the porous border into the village of Nyaiga-Muda and entered the market and trading center where people were busy with their activities. They began shooting randomly inside the market and in the process, they killed the area chief, a nurse, and a farmer.”
Commissioner Wani urged the public to remain calm but be vigilant as security forces pursue the killers. He said the SSPDF will coordinate with the Ugandan military to ensure such incidents do not happen in the future.
“For the last two months, there has been no incident of insecurity apart from minor cases of theft and problems caused by drunkards. We went down to the scene and found the bodies lying in the local church. We managed to talk to the people who had gathered and talked to them,” he said. “This is an isolated incident, and we are going to handle it as a count, and there is no going back to the refugee camp in Uganda. We left the security forces patrolling and pursuing the bandits and told them to cooperate with the Ugandan forces so that they could smash those bandits.”
“I also told the public to continue with their normal activities because the situation is under control,” Wani reassured.
According to Joseph Lodiong, a resident of Nyaiga-Muda who witnessed the shooting, people scattered and started running only to realize others had been shot.
“The incident happened in the evening, and three people were killed. We should live in peace because such incidents scare people away,” he said. “We are calling upon the state and county governments to strengthen security because we keep on losing our people, and sending us back to the camps is not a good option. What we want is to see the culprits apprehended and brought to book.”