Two individuals, Lomulel Lomunyiobok, 64, and Natoto Lolulai, 33, lost their lives while quarrelling over a goat in Longeleyia Payam of Kapoeta South County, South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria State. According to local authorities, Natoto died after being beaten in a mob justice attack by Lomulel’s relatives.
Angelo Ongolechang Lorot, the paramount Chief of Kapoeta South County, told Radio Tamazuj that the incident took place at 6:00 PM on Sunday. He explained that local authorities couldn’t intervene because the local youth were unruly.
He mentioned that many arrests had been made in the past without resulting in justice from the relevant authorities, leading the mob to take matters into their own hands.
“Under the influence of alcohol, this young man attacked an elderly man and killed him while demanding the repayment of a goat. Plans were in place to replace the goat. The young man responsible for killing Lomulel Lomunyiobok was identified as Natoto Lolulai, the son of Lopeyok,” clarified Lorot.
He went on to say, “The sons of the deceased Lomulel quickly gathered and took action against the young man who had killed their father. This resulted in Natoto Lolulai’s death. When I intervened, I questioned why he had resorted to violence without being arrested. It is the government’s responsibility to provide justice, but the people in the village feel that the government consistently apprehends wrongdoers without delivering justice. The Toposa community is expressing a lack of respect for the government in the area.”
David Nayii, the Eastern Equatoria State Youth Leader, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview from Kapoeta South but strongly criticized the act of mob justice. He emphasized the need for communities to refrain from taking the law into their own hands and urged young people to report such cases to the police.
He described the situation, saying, “I am aware of the incident involving two boys who were friends. One of them took his friend’s goat, and the owner of the goat requested its return. The friend had been avoiding repaying the goat. When the friend saw that he wasn’t getting his goat back, he went to his friend’s home. At his friend’s home, he found his friend’s father, who insisted he must wait for his son.”
Nayii continued, “The friend insisted that he wanted his goat repaid immediately. He forced his way into the goat kraal and took one goat. A scuffle ensued, during which the elderly man was struck on the head. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital. After learning of the news of his father’s death, the boy’s friend joined other youths to find the friend responsible for his father’s death. They confronted him as a mob and beat him to death. Mob justice is not the right course of action. They should have reported the incident to the police.”
Hellen Omina, an Eastern Equatoria State lawmaker representing SPLM, condemned the act and called on youth to seek peaceful means of dispute resolution, emphasizing the importance of respecting the law.
He said, “We call for an end to such acts among our communities. If your colleague, friend, or brother takes something from you and you cannot find him, you should not take action against anyone at home. We are not happy with what happened, and we call on the youth that in such scenarios, when you don’t find the person who is supposed to give you what you want, don’t take anything by force. Instead, wait for your friend until he comes. If he refuses to give you what rightly belongs to you, then you can open a police case and allow the law to take its course to resolve your problem.”