A 40-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly fatally stabbing a security guard at Lorima Primary Health Care Unit (PHCU) in Lorima village in Ikotos County, local officials said.
The victim, Charles Lokoyel, a 67-year-old security guard, was attacked with a knife and killed on Wednesday night.
“We have one ex-soldier who attacked the security guard at the veranda of the health facility around 10-11:00 pm on Wednesday. I don’t know what is wrong with him. When he was arrested, he claimed it was God directing him. Yet, God does not instruct people to do wrong things. They used to be two at the workplace, but the other person was still in the community. When the other came, he found that the old man was already breathing his last breath,” Timon Lolori, Ikotos County Commissioner, told Radio Tamazuj.
“Lohitu Koider is currently in police custody, and it is now up to the deceased’s family to address this tragedy. He will face the consequences of the law as he was caught red-handed with a knife covered in blood. Despite claiming he was not under the influence of alcohol, he provided no explanation when asked if there was an issue between him and the deceased victim,” he added.
Commissioner Lolori warned that, “This incident has the potential to spark conflict between families and villages, but we aim to resolve the matter tomorrow, ensuring that the responsibility rests with the individual criminal rather than implicating the entire community.”
Major General James Monday Enoka, the Police Commissioner for Eastern Equatoria State, has confirmed that the suspect is currently being detained in Ikotos police custody. The individual is under serious investigation before facing trial, he added.
“It is true, the suspect in Ikotos County has been arrested; he is now in police custody, and the investigation is progressing. Our concern is that any wrongdoer must be arrested and face the full force of the law. We are succeeding in that; most of the criminals who committed crimes during the past weeks have been apprehended.”
Expressing concern over the rising crime rate in the state, Alphonse Muras Chacha, an SPLM member of parliament at the Eastern Equatoria State Legislative Assembly, who is from the area, said:“Someone does something, and you find challenges. Motorists face challenges and are killed; it is something throughout the state, not only in Ikotos alone. As a representative, because such a thing will affect the area and the state security-wise, even the implementation of other programs, people will be afraid to do other things. He has to face the law, and he should be criminalized, put in jail; let him experience hardship, then it will be up to the court to give judgment.”
Article 206 of the South Sudan Penal Code says whoever causes the death of another person commits the offence of murder and, upon conviction, be sentenced to death or imprisonment for life, and may also be liable to a fine; provided that if the nearest relatives of the deceased opt for customary blood compensation.
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