Court sentences killer of Nimule chief to death by hanging

JUBA – A South Sudan high court in the country’s Eastern Equatoria state has sentenced a 24-year-old man to death by hanging over last month’s killing of a traditional chief in Eastern Equatoria state.

Chief Ebele John, a traditional leader from Nzara Boma of Eastern Equatoria state, was shot dead while he was chairing a community meeting on July 11, sparking violent protest among the locals that resulted in the wounding of Nimule police chief.

Following the violence triggered by the killing of the community chief, the military authorities apprehended at least two suspects believed to have been involved in the killing of the chief and were then detained at a military barrack before they appeared in court this week.

Gam Hassan Oscar, the defense lawyer for the late chief’s family, said the case of the chief has been closed after the court sentenced today one of the two men to death by hanging after he was found quality over the community chief’s killing.

“Today, the case of the murder of the chief of Nzara Boma, the late Ebele John, has been concluded. The mobile high court has issued a death sentence against the first accused, Lat Machut, who was responsible for the shooting and killing of the chief,” Oscar is quoted by Radio Tamazuj as saying.

“And the court also convicted the second accused who caused the problem by taking pictures of people who were gathered to contribute money for the burial of two people killed previously in Mugali,” he added.

The lawyer said “the first convict, Lat Machut, was convicted under section 206 of the penal code, 2008, and that is the section in regards to murder which says whoever causes the death of another person intentionally, and he was also convicted under section 72 which is the possession of dangerous weapons because he bought a weapon and was not licensed.”

“The first accused was sentenced to death by hanging,” he added.