A police officer whose gun was stolen by a suspect who used it to kill the chairperson of the Lakes State Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC), Dut Malual Chahoch, earlier in September died last week while in detention at the Panda Military Barracks in Rumbek.
On the evening of 8 September, a suspect believed to be a watchman at the RRC compound stole Magok Luony Mangek’s gun and killed the RRC chairperson, the commission’s finance administrator, Joseph Maker Amuom and a prison officer, Captain Maker Kucjo, and wounded others. The suspect was also shot dead by security forces after he refused to lay down his weapon.
The Rumbek State Hospital medical director, Doctor Terran Madit Terran, told Radio Tamazuj on Friday that the body of the deceased who died last Tuesday, was brought to the hospital in a police pickup truck. He said the body had no visible wounds or harm when it was physically examined by doctors during a postmortem examination.
According to Dr. Madit, the deceased might have succumbed to other complications related to hypertension or diabetes.
“We do not do internal organs examination because we do not have that capacity. What we did here when a body was brought on a police pickup was an external physical examination to see whether there was a physical body harm,” he explained. “Nothing was seen and this gave us an idea that the suspect has died as a result of diabetes or hypertension due to the poor status of the prison where he was kept.”
Dr. Madit said it is a right for all detainees to have access to medication.
“There are Primary Health Care Centers (PHCC) established in the prison,” he explained. “The reason why they are there is for inmates to have access to proper medications and they can be transferred to the State hospital or other health facilities with referral documents signed by the Public Attorney General for further treatment when the condition is severe and cannot be managed by the clinic that is in prison.”
The coordinator of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) in Lakes State, Daniel Laat Kon, said that the investigation into the cause of the death of Magok Luony Mangek will reveal what happened to him.
He said civilians should not be detained at military facilities.
“Civilians are supposed to be taken to civil prison rather than in the military barracks,” he said.
Attempts to reach the police spokesperson in Lakes State for comment were unsuccessful as his phone went unanswered.