A 70-year-old pastor of the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan identified only as Rev. Godfrey was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Torit Town of South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria State on Tuesday night, officials said.
The Mayor of Torit Municipal Council Aye Joseph Oswaha told Radio Tamazuj that the clergyman was killed while he was taking his supper in his home in Hai Inkas residential area.
“His name is called pastor Godfrey aged 70, Muru by tribe. This is a sad incident. This incident happened yesterday at around 7:45 pm when I received a call that there was a gunshot and people rushed there,” he explained. “I send the security organs and they brought the news. Primary investigations are ongoing.”
Fellow clergyman, Rev. Luka Odong Silvio, a senior pastor at Rebuilding Ministry International Church says they are saddened by the death of their colleague saying it’s a loss to the church in South Sudan.
He condemned the killing and urged the government to investigate and bring to book those involved.
“We as the office of pastors, really condemn such acts. It is wrong and people who are doing this should stop, we ask them to desist from such,” he said.
He adds, “I also appeal to the government to arrest the culprit and to detect where they are living because these people did not come from America, they are within, they are our sons and daughters inside here. The government should try its best to arrest these people, let them face the law.”
Jacob Atari Albano, the Torit County Commissioner confirmed the incident and said the killing seems to be a targeted one.
“What happened maybe a personal targeting. It doesn’t mean that some criminals were coming o kill just randomly. I assume the killer had a problem. As a government we are condemning these targeted killings, we don’t want it to happen in Torit County, Municipality, or in Eastern Equatoria State,” he added.
Commissioner Atari urged the people of Torit to embrace each other in love and unity and stop senseless killings.