By Kei Emmanuel Duku
Kajo-Keji County commander Brig. Gen. Malong Agat said a Monday shooting inside a military barracks left three South Sudan People’s Defense Force (SSPDF) soldiers dead.
The deceased were identified as Maj. Santino Lual Akol Bul, 1st Sergeant Victor Deng Ajang Deng, and William Deng Mawien Akot.
Agat said the misunderstanding began when William Deng Mawien Akot refused to obey an order from his superior, Maj. Santino Lual Akol Bul. When Bul ordered Akot’s arrest, Akot went inside his house, grabbed a gun, and fatally shot Bul. Akot then shot and killed 1st Sergeant Ajang before being shot at by other soldiers inside the barracks.
He said tensions between Bul, who belonged to the SSPDF’s administrative command, and Akot, who belonged to the military intelligence unit, had been building over deployment after Bul denied Akot’s request to be transferred to a new location.
“It first started when William made his request to be transferred to one of the areas within Kajo-Keji County called Kala however Maj. Santino told him to report back to his unit in case he wanted to be redeployed, again after a while he asked to be given days to go and do charcoal business so that he can be able to get some cash and earn a living but he was denied and that’s why he decided to take a gun and killed his collogues,” Agat said.
The incident caused panic among some residents, who began to flee the area. However, Agat assured the public that the situation was now under control.
“What happened inside the barracks has nothing to do with the civilian population, it was an issue between the army officers and right now the situation is normal though yesterday some people had started running away but after hearing it was a misunderstanding within the military barracks, they have returned and going around doing their normal business,” Agat said.
Kajo-Keji County, still recovering from the 2016 conflict, is one of the six counties in the Central Equatorial State the conflict displaced thousands of citizens.