By Hou Akot Hou
An inmate was shot and wounded on Tuesday morning in Aweil East County, Northern Bahr el Ghazal State by a warden after attempting to escape while being taken to court.
Eyewitnesses’ accounts reported that the inmate, along with another, tried to run “in order to avoid being taken to the County’s Judge for ruling.
According to one eyewitness, the warden then shot at the fleeing inmate in the thigh and shoulder.
“The man was shot as he was running away from the lines of other inmates who were being taken to Mabil Court where Judge Mathiang passes the verdict,” the source said.
“He was shot at Machar-Mou in the thigh and the shoulder.”
Meanwhile, the other escape attempt was unsuccessful. “On seeing that his colleague sustained serious shoots, he relinquished fleeing and stopped and got handcuffed and taken back to prison at Buoth-Yar prison,” the source continued.
Both the injured inmate and the shooting warden are reportedly in custody while investigations are ongoing.
Another witness clarified that the fleeing inmate faced a minor charge related to a brawl in 2023.
While the source did not specify the sentence, they emphasized it does not amount to capital punishment that could force a warden to shoot him.