At least 9 people have been arrested and are currently under investigation in the border town of Nimule, Eastern Equatoria State, for allegedly beating a Ugandan turnboy to death.

Over the weekend, police in Nimule arrested more than 40 people in connection to the brutal murder of the turnboy at the Rock City residential area after the deceased was ordered to alight from a vehicle he was in and beaten to death on Friday.

Police say they scrutinized the 40 people arrested and only found 9 people connected to the murder.

Major David Khasmiro, the police chief inspector in Nimule Municipal Council said the suspects will face the law.

“There was someone killed (last Friday) in Nimule here. We arrested like 40 to 50 people suspected of this crime and we screened them until we released some people and some are the real suspects and now we are left with 9 people. They are in custody and investigations are ongoing,” Maj. Khasmiro said. 

He added, “This man is beaten to death. He was a turnboy of these heavy trucks. They came from Juba and parked at Rock City because it was dark and could not cross the border. At night criminals came and attacked them, so he was beaten on the head and died of injuries in the hospital.”

He revealed that some of the suspects are soldiers and urged citizens to respect the law for the country's reputation.

“The deceased is a Langi from Uganda and these suspects are all South Sudanese, some of them are soldiers from police and the army, but the good thing is investigations are ongoing,” Maj. Khasmiro said. “My message to our people is that let us not spoil our reputation. Even this person who was killed is a foreigner and the excuse these criminals have is that they drank alcohol and ate Miarungi (a drug).” 

Michael Abuni, the chairperson of the chamber of commerce in Nimule, condemned the incident and appreciated the police for their quick response by arresting suspects.

“We condemn it (murder). There was no insecurity in Nimule, most of these people (criminals) came from Juba and now they cannot cross to Uganda because the border is closed so they now do their activities here in the area,” Abuni said. 

Meanwhile, the chairperson for the Ugandan community in Eastern Equatoria State, Sanza Moses, appreciated the government for acting fast and apprehending the suspects. 

"The way they have reacted, at least it shows that they are trying to work upon security. It is the government to put in more emphasis on security because it will be a worry to us business people and vehicles moving when the roads are risky all the time,” Sanza said. “Sometime back people demonstrated and the government agreed they will place security personnel to keep on escorting vehicles. It is the work of the government."