The governor of Eastern Equatoria State, Louis Lobong, on Friday returned from the border town of Nimule to the state capital Torit to contain escalating insecurity there after an elderly churchman was killed.
According to Aliandro Lotok, the governor’s press secretary, the killing of a 70-year-old Presbyterian pastor only identified as Reverend Godfrey on Tuesday and the shooting and injuring of the manager of New Nation Hotel in Torit prompted the governor’s return to the town.
He also said that on Thursday night, there were sporadic shootings near the SSPDF barracks and the New Nation Hotel along the Torit-Kapoeta road.
Lotok said Governor Lobong will return to Nimule to continue with confidence building and addressing the security concerns there after containing the insecurity in Torit town.
“This (Friday) morning we are in Torit because there were very urgent and pressing issues to be handled here. There were incidences that happened when the governor was away from Torit and he came back to Torit for a short period of time to also ensure that Torit is okay,” he said. “He will be back to Nimule to continue the work he began there. The situation in Nimule has returned to normality.”
Lotok said traffic is now flowing normally to and from Uganda and traders have opened their hops in Nimule. He asked the residents of Torit town to be vigilant and report suspicious elements and crimes to the police.
“We are asking our people to remain vigilant and share information with security agencies. Report any suspicious movement of people in your locality so that the situation will be quickly arrested,” Lotok said. “We do not want anyone to cause havoc in the state capital, to destabilize the peace of our people. We are warning criminals. If they think they can come to the city of Torit to shoot or cause havoc, they will be arrested and dealt with.”
Meanwhile, the state information minister, Patrick Oting Cyprian, said it was difficult to tell who was causing insecurity in Torit because no suspects have been apprehended.
“The truth is that it is very difficult to know what the cause is because we have not got these people physically. The incidents of the manager of New Nation Hotel and the shooting of the elder of the Presbyterian Church, we still do not know the motive,” he said. “The security apparatus is not sleeping and are looking into it. I want to assure people that when such people are got, they will be brought to face justice as a lesson for other people.”
The chairperson of the civil society network in Eastern Equatoria State, Charles Onen Lokwaruk, condemned the recurring killings in the state and called on the people to be law-abiding.
“We condemn the Killings and call on our community to be law-abiding citizens. We also want to thank the government, especially the office of the governor, for the quick interventions,” he said. “However, we still want to request the government to step up night patrols along the main roads.”
Last Tuesday, Governor Lobong temporarily relocated his office to Nimule town in Magwi County to contain unrest there after John Ebele, the chief of Anzara Boma, was shot dead while presiding over a community meeting.