A doctor was critically wounded in a suspected revenge attack at Cueibet County Hospital in South Sudan’s Lakes State on Thursday, after relatives of a patient who died at the facility allegedly targeted him.
Santino Mayom Kau was shot in the chest at about 5 p.m. while on duty. The attackers fled and remained at large.
William Koji Kirjok, the caretaker state minister of information, told Radio Tamazuj on Friday that preliminary investigations suggested the attack was linked to revenge.
“According to preliminary investigations and accounts from people who were around him, they said these people are known and that the case is related to revenge,” he said.
Kirjok said the doctor had been transferred to Rumbek State Hospital for treatment, but he had not received an update on his condition on Friday morning.
He said the government would pursue those responsible, adding that authorities are working with traditional leaders, community representatives and politicians to curb revenge killings.
“Such incidents have to stop. They have been minimised because they are no longer rampant,” he said, urging residents to report disputes to the police and courts rather than take the law into their own hands.
Simon Makoi Malek, the medical officer in charge of Cueibet County Hospital, told Radio Tamazuj that the attack occurred while he was away from the facility.
He said relatives of a man who had been shot in Malou-Pech Payam and later died at the hospital attacked the doctor, apparently believing that the people responsible for their relative’s death came from the same area.
“The incident occurred even though Dr. Santino Mayom Kau did not know what was happening,” Malek said.
He said the doctor was shot in the chest but survived, adding that the bullet exited his body and that he was receiving treatment in Rumbek.
Daniel Laat Kon, coordinator of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) and chairperson of the Civil Society Organizations Network (CISON) in Lakes State, condemned the attack.
He urged the state government to address persistent revenge killings in Cueibet County, disarm civilians and ensure those responsible for the attack were arrested and held accountable.
Laat Kon said revenge killings continued in the area, accusing authorities of paying insufficient attention to resolving the problem.
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