Officials in Budi County of Eastern Equatoria State say suspected cattle raiders shot and killed two farmers and injured another one last week in the Chukudum area.
According to the police, the late Lokoro Lobor and Susana Atuhu died on the spot while Mary Akie sustained gunshot wounds and is nursing them at the Chukudum Hospital after they were attacked by unknown gunmen.
Budi County Police Inspector Major Philip Ohiron told Radio Tamazuj that the three had gone to the farm to cultivate with their oxen when they were attacked by unknown gunmen who intended to raid the cattle.
"These people were going to their farms and they took their oxen. So the enemies come and found that these people had just eaten food and they shot them. Two died and one was injured. They ran although they were surrounded and they escaped from the bush on Thursday night, the footmarks ended that side," he said.
Maj. Ohiron confirmed that the cattle were recovered but the culprits escaped.
A member of parliament representing Budi County in the yet-to-be reconstituted state parliament Bosco Lotyang expressed dismay over the killings and cautioned farmers to remain vigilant while cultivating.
"This time everybody is going to the farms to dig at least to produce food for their families but now raiders also come in their way to raid the cattle and maybe cows. I would like to tell the people of Chukudum to be very keen when they are in their farms to see whether people are around who want to raid because people here are using oxen to plow their gardens," he said.
Lotyang also called on the neighboring communities to embrace peace and appealed to the victims' families not to avenge.
However, the Executive Director of ZOLO, a civil society organization Charles Onen Lokwaruk condemned the killings and demanded the arrest of the perpetrators.
“I want to ask our government to pursue these people because it is so painful when these kinds of things happen, the culprits are not found and brought to book. We ask our government to use their intelligence network to ensure they find the culprits, apprehend them and take them to court. They should be punished to avoid others from doing similar activities," Onen added.