Two girls identified only as Hifita, 17, and Iting, 18, were on Wednesday killed in Bur Payam in Torit County, Eastern Equatoria State while traveling to Torit town, officials said.
Torit County Commissioner Jacob Atari Albano told radio Tamazuj that the two girls were on their way from Ohiri to Torit when they were killed at 11 am on Wednesday and he blamed youth from the Lopit section for the murders and cattle raiding in Bur Payam.
“Yesterday (Wednesday) the two incidences happened at the same time. Some cattle raiders from Lafon County came and took cattle from Omorwo of Loudo and after one hour some two ladies were coming from Ohiri to Torit and they were shot dead near Omorwo village,” Atari said. “So, these are the incidents that happened that I am aware of. We sent the police to go and investigate the issues. The Monyimiji of Ohiri went and returned the cattle which were raided.”
The Torit commissioner said no arrests were made because the assailants are from and fled to Lafon County.
“The criminals are from Lafon County and I cannot go beyond my county. I call upon my counterpart of Lafon to take action against those people,” Commissioner Atari said. “This is one of the challenges that I face as the commissioner of Torit County. The people of Lafon, especially from the area of Lopit, always come and raid cattle from my county. I am really very disappointed by such cross-country cattle raiding.”
For his part, Ohure Peter, the youth leased of the Lopit community denied the culpability of their youth in the Bur Payam cattle raid and killings and tasked Torit authorities to provide evidence.
“I have not got any information. I am still asking other sides and they told me they did not get any information about what happened. They want evidence so that they can follow,” Ohure said. “They are trying to investigate because there is nothing at all that happened. I called from East to West the from North to South and there is no information. Some parts of the Payam do not have a network.”
Meanwhile, Davidka Ikai, the acting chairperson of the women association in Eastern Equatoria State, condemned the killings and called on the government to bring the perpetrators to book.
The state police commissioner, James Monday Enoka, said he dispatched forces to investigate the matter.
“I sent our crime scene investigator and forces there but they and they have not yet given me the report. I will update you later, he said.