Police authorities said that an 18-year-old man has been shot dead and four other commercial motorcycle riders injured in a scuffle between the riders and police at Hai Mauna in Juba.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Friday, Maj. Gen. Daniel Justin said the incident started Thursday when two men were fighting at the boda-boda association building when a police officer tried to separate them.
He stated that the incident led to a shootout injuring one person who later succumbed to injuries at a hospital.
“Two people were fighting outside the Boda-boda association building, so there was a policeman who was working in one of the compounds, and when he saw the people fighting, he rushed to the scene, and the other one was injured, and the other one was trying to grab the gun from the police, and in the process, a bullet was fired, and the bullet hit an 18 years-old boy, so he was rushed to the hospital unfortunately at around 2 or 3 am he died,” Justin explained.
He reiterated that on Friday morning, a group of angry boda-boda riders stormed the association office, destroyed properties and went away with 100 impounded motorcycles at the association premises.
Justin stressed that following the violent protest by the riders, more police forces were deployed, and as a result, four riders were shot and injured by the police in the process.
“They start fighting, guns were fired in the air, but they could not stop at the end, additional forces were sent to them to control the situation, and it was controlled, but as a result, four people sustained injuries, and they are now receiving treatment in the hospital, and those boda-boda riders managed to rob 100 motorcycles when the police came they recovered five motorcycles,” Justin said.
Efforts to reach the boda-boda riders were futile as they refused to speak to the media.