A pastor of the South Sudan African Inland Church was on Tuesday morning attacked and shot at his home in Torit town of Eastern Equatoria State.

49-year-old Pastor Peter Lokai later succumbed to his gunshot wounds shortly after arriving at Torit Hospital.

Major Justine Kleopas Takuru, Eastern Equatoria state police spokesperson told Radio Tamazuj that the incident happened at 1:30 am on Tuesday.

“Someone was shot dead in Ifwanyak. We went up to the scene and we found he was shot, a pastor at AIC. He was sleeping in his room with two other visitors. Some people came to his house and called him by name, according to eyewitnesses. The three men shot the pastor in his breast and went inside taking his telephone and also the phones for the other visitors," he said. "At around 2 am when he was already brought to the hospital, he passed on."

Kleopas said there are speculations that the pastor's killing was planned as it coincided with the African Inland Church's general assembly to elect a new bishop for the Eastern Bank between 17th and 22nd May 2021.

He added that the suspects remain at large but investigations have been launched to apprehend the suspects.

"Investigations have begun, but up to now we do not have evidence and no one has been arrested. Our brothers from the CIDs and national security through the legal administration and director of CID are also conducting investigations," he noted.

The police officer called on the civil population and chiefs to cooperate with law enforcement agencies to apprehend the killers whose motive remains unknown. 

Patrick Oting Cyprian, the state information minister said, "As a government, we condemn that kind of incident in the strongest term, in case those people are found, they will face the law."