A police officer in Aweil, Northern Bahr el-Ghazal shot dead two children, his girlfriend and himself early on Wednesday morning.

Zachariah Deng Anei, who was at the mortuary where the bodies were taken in Aweil Civil Hospital, claims that the murdered woman, named Huwa, was legitimately married to his late brother Amet Deng Anei and bore him five children. 

Anei explained to Radio Tamazuj the victim’s relationship to Baak Kuol, the murderer. “This problem occurred when my brother died and the woman met another man who impregnated her.  When I asked her who is responsible for the child she refused to show me the guy. I continued pursuing them in the court for a very long time and when I became tired I gave up.”

According to Deng Anei, Huwa refused to marry one of her late husband’s family members, as is common in such circumstances in the Dinka culture, and met someone outside of the family.

Before Huwa was murdered with two of her children, she is reported have told her late husband’s brother that Baak was mistreating her and threatening her life.

Although he is thought to have been angered by repeated legal cases filed against him in court his motive for the killing remains unclear. 

In an attempt to resolve the dispute, the commissioner of Aweil East County ruled that the family of the murderer should pay a dowry of 56 cows to marry the murdered woman instead of compensating her.  Police in the state have promised to carry out the investigation into the matter.

In the past month, Radio Tamazuj has reported on two similar incidents in the region.  On the 7^th of February, an SPLA soldier shot his wife and three children dead in Wanyjok, Northern Bahr el-Ghazal before killing himself.

In the same state another soldier shot dead seven people, including four children, and burnt of his victims in their houses in Omdurman Bomain Aweil East County last month.

Photo: Aerial photo of Aweil (2007)