A 42-year-old man identified as Loikoi Paul Lorikaii who worked as a supervisor of health workers at Torit Municipal Council on Monday collapsed and died in Torit Town in Eastern Equatoria State.
Sources revealed that the deceased was known to drink alcohol. According to officials, the departed left home in the morning heading to an unknown location but suddenly collapsed dead on the roadside.
The police said their efforts to take the body of the deceased for postmortem were frustrated by the bereaved family who insisted on taking it home, saying he would not resurrect after the autopsy.
Odong Kayo Ben, the police investigator on duty at Torit Central Police Division, told Radio Tamazuj that the incident happened at around 8:30 a.m. on Monday.
“The deceased came from his home and upon reaching the road near the wildlife office and Odiong’s shop, he just collapsed dead on the road. No one beat him and he just died alone because he was moving on his own, fell on the road, and died on the spot,” he explained. “We took the body for postmortem but the family insisted that they were taking him home because he fell and died, nothing to be done again. His name is Loikoi Paul Lorikaii, aged 42. And was working at the municipality council.”
Torit Municipal Council Mayor Mustafa Albino Zachariah confirmed the incident and expressed shock over the loss of his senior staff member.
“I heard the information because they called me requesting a vehicle for the body to be rushed to the hospital. I sent the vehicle and he was taken to the hospital but those who took him to the hospital suddenly called saying the person died and he was taken home,” he narrated. “The deceased was working with me at the municipal council as the supervisor of health workers. The cause of death is not clear but I assume if someone dies suddenly like this, it might be a stroke. This incident really shocked us and we have currently closed the office to witness his burial.”
Meanwhile, Mustafa Lokuru, the medical director at Torit State Hospital, said despite the refusal of the parents of the deceased to have the body taken for postmortem, he attributes the death to alcoholism and cautioned citizens against excessive consumption of alcohol, saying it poses a risk to human health and life.
“We cannot confirm the cause of death because we did not even go further to investigate but that is always what we call hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) that happens if a person is used to taking alcohol. Maybe yesterday he took alcohol without taking any sugar like starch (grain) or any food. Low blood sugar can make a person die just like that,” he explained. “We advise even our colleagues because some of them even drink in groups, let us advise each other that we should take something little and then reserve something little for our energy.”