Two people have been arrested in connection with last week’s killing of a soldier in Nadapal border town in Kapoeta East County, Eastern Equatoria state.
On 14 December, a group of armed men attacked St Patrick boarding secondary school and killed an SSPDF soldier who was guarding the premises after students were sent home for holidays.
The two suspects, Marko Lopeyok and Simon Lotara, were arrested by police while in possession of the deceased Corporal Moses Philip’s gun and are currently being held at the Narus police station.
The Kapoeta East County police chief inspector, Maj. Polonia Lokidormoi, told Radio Tamazuj over the Christmas weekend that the suspected murderers were apprehended after being tracked by the security forces.
“The forces have been doing their security work and we arrested the criminals who killed the soldier,” Maj. Lokidormoi said. “We arrested three but one escaped. One is called Simon Lotara, 36, and the other one is Marko Lopeyok, 29. They were arrested with the gun of the late soldier which they left in the bush but the forces followed with them until they brought the gun. The suspects are in custody and we will take them to Kapoeta.”
He urged the youth to embrace peace and embrace agriculture as an economic activity instead of crime.
“We tell the youth that peace is coming and everybody should come and cultivate because killings and looting is not a job but a crime,” Maj. Lokidormoi advised. “When we arrest such people we shall bring them to the court of law. We are still investigating them. As you know, some of these people have taken crime as a way of life.”
Juma Tikol, the executive director of the Integrated Health and Development Organization (IHDO) praised the police for quickly apprehending the suspected murderers and said it gives the population hope.
“When we see that the perpetrators of such crimes are brought to book, we see it as good initiative as civil society because arresting perpetrators gives us hope that peace is going to come,” Tikol said. “Those who still have the ideology of being involved in crime will see that their colleagues are arrested. It is a good move.”
He said that what demoralizes the population is that sometimes criminals who have been apprehended escape or are released from detention without being prosecuted.