Unknown gunmen stormed Oguruny village in Hiyalla Payam of Torit County in Eastern Equatoria State and killed a 13-year-old girl and shot and injured her father in the leg at their home on Monday night, a local official said.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Thursday, Torit County Commissioner Jacob Attari Albano confirmed the incident and said the attackers are suspected to be from the neighbouring Iloli village because the footmarks were tracked till there. He believed it was a revenge attack.
“The criminals on Monday night entered Loguruny and they attacked a home belonging to Bosco Oler Pasquale. They opened the door and they lit the torch and they saw a child of 13 years who asked them who are you and immediately they shot her to death,” Commissioner Attari explained. “In the process, the father woke up and he was also shot in the leg. The father is now at Torit hospital for treatment. After the attack, the Monyiemiji of Oguruny traced the footmarks up to Iloli and I also witnessed it. Two people went and attacked.”
Attari condemned the attack and promised to bring the perpetrators to book. He accused local chiefs of not cooperating with the government and vowed to sack all of them and recruit new ones who will feed the government with accurate security reports.
“The chiefs in Torit County, especially Hiyalla Payam, don’t cooperate with the government. The chiefs do not tell the realities to the security organs in case of anything. They stand with their community instead of revealing to security, even if the community does bad things,” Attari said. “They are also getting threats from criminals who threaten to kill them if they tell, so the chiefs are now in the pockets of criminals. These are the challenges I face in Torit County. What I will do is to change all these chiefs and bring new ones who will tell the truth.”
Iloli community authorities could not be reached for comment.
Oryema Emmanuel, the executive director of the Eastern Vision and Rehabilitation Development Agency (EVRDA) condemned the incident and urged the population to stop revenge killings.
“That is a barbaric act and we condemn it. It is not good to kill a person. There is a court of law and if there is a problem, it should be taken to the court. The community should stop this issue of revenge,” Oryema said. “People are very happy in doing revenge because they have guns so the government should expedite the process of graduation of forces so that they will be able to take charge of security and do the disarmament of the civilians who have illegal guns.”