Five nabbed over Tombura ethnic violence

Security officers have confiscated nine AK47 rifles and apprehended five suspects in connection with the ongoing ethnic violence in Tombura Country.

Western Equatoria State governor Alfred Futuyo (pictured) revealed in a Juba press conference on Wednesday morning that the suspects are receiving ammunition support from some Western Equatoria leaders serving in the national government.

“I came to Juba yesterday (Tuesday) to meet with H.E President Salva Kiir Mayardit and H.E First Vice President, Dr Riek Machar Teny to brief them on what is happening in Tombura.

“The security officers have arrested five people and got nine AK47 with them. They are under detention there (in Yambio) and they are saying they are being supported from Juba,” said governor Futuyo.

Some of the instigators of Tombura Country ethnic violence include ministers and former state government officials, the governor said.

Over the past weeks, the county has been witnessing ethnic tension between two dominant ethnic communities in the area. The violence has claimed dozens of lives and displaced thousands who are now in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

On Tuesday a high-level delegation travelled to the county to quell the tensions. The team encompassed the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Jemma Nunu Kumba, Member of Revitalised Transitional National Legislative Assembly, Paskal Bandidi and Patrick Raphael Zomoi who is the former governor of defunct state Tombura.