By Philip Buda Ladu
Thieves broke into the Juba International Airport Departure and Arrival Terminals and walked away with a computer and some valuables that are yet to be identified, according to the airport authorities.
Kur Kuol, the Director General of Juba International Airport confirmed to No. 1 Citizen Daily Newspaper that unidentified burglars broke into the airport’s departure and arrival terminals on Friday night, 11th March 2022.
“That night of Friday unknown thieves came to Juba International Airport and they broke the Departure and Arrival Terminals–entered inside there and broke two shops in the Arrival terminal and offices in the Arrival terminal. But the two shops were closed long time ago, but there were two shops in the Departure terminal that the owners haven’t reported to us that they have lost in the shops until now,” Kur narrated the incident.
He said the airport authority is yet to establish exactly the items that have been stolen by the thieves at the shops and the offices that the burglars had broken into in the two terminals.
“As I said they broke the main entrance gate and entered inside and broke the shops but what the thieves took from those two shops are not yet reported to us by the owners so that we can let you know that we have lost this one and that one,” Kur told this reporter when asked of the missing items.
The Juba International Airport Director General said the only report he heard is that, one computer went missing from the Jet’s office inside the terminal.
“The other things –money or whatever were not yet being reported,” Kur added.
He said so far, no arrest has been made for any suspect in connection to the Friday night theft incident as police are still examining the motive of the burglary.
“Up to now we can’t arrest the people because already the police came with their gargets and equipment to detect and they went back so they are still analyzing and they will come back with what they got,” Kur said.
The Juba International Airport’s Director General underlined that the Friday night theft was a minor incident that didn’t paralyze normal operations at the country’s only biggest international airport.
Meanwhile, Brigadier General James Dak Karlo, the Deputy Spokesperson of the National Police Services when reached by No. 1 Citizen Daily Newspaper for comment on the incident said he was travelling outside the country and referred this reporter to the spokesperson.
When called also, Major General Daniel Justin said he couldn’t respond immediately to queries as he had just returned back to Juba on Saturday.
Juba International Airport is one of the busiest main airports in the country that handles both international and local flights and aviation services.
The airport handles both international and local airlines, cargo operations, and chartered commercial flights. The airport is also used by South Sudan military and the UNMISS, UN Humanitarian Air services (UNHAS) World Food Program (WFP), ICRC, among other organizations for relief flights in the country.