A 40-year-old woman was raped and stabbed to death by unknown criminals in Odikolong residential area in Torit town on Sunday.
Amaring Ikalwa Rose, a chief at Odikolong residential area, told Radio Tamazuj Monday that the woman was found dead. The chief added that the woman’s body was naked and there was evidence of rape.
According to her, the victim was in the charcoal business to provide for her family.
“This woman called Krista Ibura was staying in Odikolong. She went to Inkas to see her money for charcoal, they ended up taking alcohol in Inkas and by the time she came out from Inkas to Odikolong, we did not know until yesterday people thought she went to the bush until yesterday at 1 pm,” she said.
She added,” There were some boys who were going to see their house, which is under construction and they saw the woman whom they identified at around 1:00 pm. The woman was lying on the ground without any cloth on her body. This woman was raped and [stabbed with a] knife on her neck on the left side.”
Eastern Equatoria State Commissioner of Police, Maj. Gen. James Monday Enoka has confirmed the incident and said that security forces have been deployed in the area to conduct investigations into the rape and stabbing to death of the woman.
According to the state police commissioner, no arrest has been made in connection with the rape and killing of the 40-year-old woman.
“The woman who has been killed is named Grace Ibura, 40 years old. She was raped and killed using a knife, and the police went to the crime scene and the dead body was brought to Torit town for post-mortem and the criminals have not yet been arrested,” Maj. Gen. Enoka stated.
Davidika Ikai, Acting Chairperson for Eastern Equatoria Women Association, has condemned the barbaric act and called for a speedy investigation into the crime.
She said safety and security of women in the state remains a challenge as women continue to be victims of killing and other harmful practices, including rape.
“This is a very bad act, if they had raped without killing, it would have been better but they raped and killed. This is a very big crime and these types of people should be traced. If this can be done to a woman then farming will not be there because most of the women are the ones farming. Their safety is no longer going to be there [guaranteed] and if people do not cultivate, then it will not be good. The government has to protect the women, especially during farming. The footsteps [of the criminals] should be traced and we cannot leave it to the government alone, even citizens should protect each other,” she said advised in her plea.