A SSPDF captain based in Northern Bahe el Ghazal State is on the run after travelling to Lakes State and gunning down the brother of a woman who killed his wife.
According to Lakes State Acting Information Minister William Koji, the incident happened in the main market in the Lakes State capital, Rumbek, on Friday afternoon. He said the officer, dressed in SSPDF uniform, traveled from his base to carry out his heinous mission and injured another man who was in the vicinity in the process.
“The cause was related to one of his wives being beaten by the sister of the guy he shot in Rumbek Market, which is what people allege to be the cause of the double shooting. It is a family issue, and the woman who beat and killed the soldier’s wife is currently in prison,” he explained. “The officer hails from Rumbek East County but married his now deceased wife while in Northern Bahr el Ghazal. Instead of handling the case and a family level or through the court because the suspect accused of killing his wife is currently in prison, he decided to kill his relative, who is also the suspect’s brother.”
“After shooting two people, he put a motorcyclist at gunpoint, took his bike, and fled the scene of the crime,” Minister Koji added.
He said the two injured men were rushed to Rumbek State Hospital, but the man who was targeted by the officer later succumbed to his injuries, while the one who was caught in the crossfire was recovering.
For his part, Rumbek State Hospital Medical Director Terran Madit Terran told Radio Tamazuj on Monday that they had received two gunshot victims on Friday after the market shooting, but that one of them died shortly after surgery due to severe abdominal wounds.
“The one with gunshots to the abdomen had vital organs affected and died on Sunday afternoon after an emergency operation,” he said. “The other one who was shot in the chest during crossfire is stable at the hospital.”
Meanwhile, Daniel Laat Kon, a civil society activist in Lakes State, confirmed the incident, describing it as a revenge killing.
“The situation in Rumbek Town is characterized by too much fear, and people are arming themselves,” he explained. “This is not the first such incident, and there are many like this happening in Rumbek Town because officers of the law kill people, like a student who was killed at night by the security personnel recently.”
Laat said the shooting created panic in the town, but that fortunately, the governor was around and tensions were cooled.
“These are indications that more incidents like this will happen if security personnel who are not on duty are allowed to move with guns,” he added. “Holding the perpetrator accountable will deter other people from doing the same thing.”