In a statement issued Friday morning, SPLA-IO Spokesperson Col. Lam Paul Gabriel described accusations made by Morobo County Commissioner Charles Data Bullen as “baseless and false,” arguing that the rebel group had no tactical interest in targeting what he termed “unimportant roads” such as the Morobo–Kaya route.
“The SPLA-IO is not tactically immature to target roads that add no significance to the struggle,” Col. Lam said. “We value the lives and property of all civilians, regardless of where they live or come from.”
The SPLA-IO response comes a day after Commissioner Bullen linked the opposition group to the ambush that killed James Karigi, a Kenyan civil engineer contracted by the Don Bosco Catholic Diocese to work on the St. Charles Lwanga School construction project.
Karigi was travelling with a fellow Kenyan and two motorcycle escorts when unknown gunmen attacked their vehicle. His colleague and the two riders remain unaccounted for.
According to the commissioner’s earlier statement, government troops responded swiftly and recovered Karigi’s body from the burning vehicle, killing one alleged assailant during a brief gunfight. Bullen insisted the deceased attacker was a known SPLA-IO fighter.
But Col. Lam has dismissed the claim, accusing the commissioner of making “uninformed” political statements to “please his masters in Juba.” He suggested that the government should instead scrutinise its own forces, pointing out that SSPDF troops “appeared on site within a few minutes of the attack.”
The Catholic Diocese has yet to comment on Thursday’s incident. Meanwhile, security authorities continue to urge travellers to remain cautious and report suspicious activity along volatile transit corridors in Morobo County.
