YAMBIO.The Commissioner of Nagero County in Western Equatoria State has said he is on the run following a Monday night attack on his house allegedly perpetrated by elements of the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF).
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday from an undisclosed location where he is hiding, Henry Bangada Assaya said he was surprised by the attack on his house minutes after the presidential decree read out on the state-run Television SSBC yesterday removing the Western Equatoria State Governor Alfred Futuyo Karaba.
He said he was not in his house when the decree was read and that it had nothing to do with him as commissioner. He added that he was interacting with friends when they heard gunshots and that when he rushed home, he stumbled upon soldiers who started chasing him, forcing him to flee.
“Yesterday [Monday], I was not aware of the firing of the governor of Western Equatoria State, Alfred Futuyo Karaba, at around 8 p.m., and I was not at home. I was with my honorable colleagues, and we suddenly heard gunshots at the side of the governor’s residence,” he narrated. “I tried to return home,e but before I reached it, I found heavily armed forces already going to attack my home, the place where I am living, and I decided to run back. This is the situation.”
“They attacked my house yesterday at night around 8 p.m., and they also automatically attacked the house of the [former] governor,” Commissioner Assaya added.
He said Monday night’s attack separated him from the former governor, and he does not know the latter’s whereabouts as both of them are on the run.
“This [Tuesday] morning, I was hiding in the neighborhood, and the army came again and broke the gate of my fence, went in, and took all my clothes and all my other properties,s including a motorbike,” Assaya lamented. “I am the only one who knows my whereabouts. I do not know what is wrong with the SSPDF because what I am seeing is a violation of the peace agreement because these government forces went and attacked my county. They have been fighting the civilians in the bushes, and I have been reporting it. Yesterday, after the relief of the governor, they attacked me, the former governor, and the house of the information minister.”
The commissioner called on President Salva Kiir and First Deputy Vice President Dr. Riek Machar to address the violence in Western Equatoria.
Attempts to contact the acting police commissioner in the state and the SSPDF Division 6 commander for comment on the issue were futile.
