A 34-year-old man identified as Elia Moses was shot dead in a revenge attack after he accidentally shot and wounded a 9-year-old girl, Ihatar Karlo, in Lacharok village, Lomayobo Boma, in Eastern Equatoria State’s Imehejek Administrative Area on Sunday evening.
Imehejek Chief Administrator Matthew Oromo told radio Tamazuj that the problem started when Elia Moses had a confrontation with his brother-in-law, whom he intended to shoot but ended up wounding the girl who is a babysitter for the children of a man identified as Joseph Ojok. The latter then hunted down Moses and killed him.
“Elia intended to shoot his brother-in-law, but the bullet ended up accidentally wounding the young girl called Ihatar who looks after Ojok’s children,” he explained. “When Ojok learned that his babysitter had been shot, he picked up a gun and hunted down Moses to his home and killed him.”
“This is a case of revenge, and Ojok has not been apprehended and is on the run. He might hand himself to authorities later,” Oromo added.
He expressed concern over the incident because local authorities had recently engaged community members in a peace dialogue to prevent such violence.
For his part, Lieutenant Colonel Pio Oromo Thomas, the SSPDF Operations Commander in Imehejek Administrative Area, confirmed the incident and said security forces were working to ensure the suspect is brought to book.
“We are even surprised because I already told these people to stop these reckless killings. We conducted peace dialogues and asked them to cooperate with the government,” he said. “We agreed with the communities that if they have problems, they should report them to me so that I can resolve them amicably.”
He urged residents to cooperate with government authorities and report criminal incidents rather than resorting to violence.
The incident also drew condemnation from the Lopit community leadership in Torit.
Ustaz Ambrose Oyet Albino, Chairperson of the Lopit Community in Torit, condemned the killing and appealed to residents to reject revenge attacks and allow the law to take its course.
“The relatives of the injured girl should not retaliate against the suspect but instead cooperate with authorities to ensure justice is served,” he said. “They cannot take the law into their own hands. I completely condemn such actions. The suspect should be arrested and brought before the authorities so that the law can take its course.”
The community leader also commended local authorities and security personnel for their efforts to address the situation, calling for peaceful resolution of disputes through established legal and customary mechanisms.
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