A gang of youth on Tuesday night hacked a local disk jockey identified as Tobby Wilson, 25, with machetes in the Addis Ababa area of Torit town in Eastern Equatoria State, local officials said.
Wilson later succumbed to injuries at the Torit State Hospital. Local authorities say gangs have been terrorizing residential areas for the last month and created trepidation among locals.
Simon Otim Ikarang, the sub-chief of Enyief Boma in Torit town told Radio Tamazuj Wednesday that local youth were trying to identify the killers.
“Yesterday (Tuesday) a young man was hacked by a gang while returning from a disco but suspects have been not identified yet. The local youth are now investigating and hopefully, the security forces will intervene and take over the investigations,” he said. “I intend to ban disco dances in my area.”
Meanwhile, Torit Mayor Mustafa Albino Zacharia confirmed the incident and revealed that the mother of the deceased man had earlier been attacked by a gang who cut her using a machete.
“The first case happened in Enyief yesterday (Monday) and there is a boy whose mother was injured using a panga (machete). He left home on Tuesday and went to the disco place and he also was cut using Panga and he died this morning,” he said. “This was done by youth gangs called niggers who are creating for us havoc. We are studying them and are going to stop parties and the operations of nightclubs soon.”
Relatedly, a gang member was shot in the leg in the Kuku suburb of Torit town when they tried to attack a soldier on the same Tuesday night.
Municipal authorities said the gang continued attacking the soldier even after he discharged a warning shot forcing him to shoot one of the assailants in the leg.
Mayor Albino said the gang was armed with pangas and bows and arrows and threatened lives and grabbed people’s belongings.
“The second case was in the Kuku area and involved some boys who fought at a party. They did not even obtain permission to hold the party and a boy was stabbed so they were dispersed by the security forces,” he explained. “At around 2 am, these same boys went back to the party venue and attacked a soldier. The soldier fired a warning shot in the air but they kept coming at him with bows and arrows and pangas so he shot one of them in the leg.”
Municipal authorities say there is a worrying rise in gang culture and violence in Torit town.