Journalist and parliamentary candidate killed in South Sudan
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Eye Radio
Journalist Veronica Lucy Gordon, recently a candidate in South Sudan’s parliamentary elections, was killed alongside Justin Akim in an ambush on a vehicle carrying SPLM delegates. The attack also left two people injured in Miri Loko, Western Equatoria State, according to Eye Radio.
South Sudanese journalist Veronica Lucy Gordon, a former journalist with the South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC) and a recent parliamentary candidate, was killed on Thursday evening 12 November in an ambush in Greater Mundri, Western Equatoria State, according to Eye Radio. She was killed alongside Justin Akim, a former teacher and religious leader, when unidentified armed men attacked a vehicle carrying SPLM delegates on the road between Lui and Mundri.
The attack took place at around 7pm in Miri Loko village as the delegates were returning from the SPLM primaries in Lui Payam. The attackers reportedly targeted the last vehicle in the convoy, killing its two occupants. Two other people were injured and several delegates fled into the bush, according to Eye Radio. Noah Issa, acting Information Minister of Western Equatoria, said the identity of the attackers and their motive remained unknown.
The Female Journalists Network (FJN), the Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJoSS) and the Alliance of Civil Society Organisations on Elections called for an urgent investigation and for those responsible to be prosecuted. The FJN also called for concrete measures to protect journalists, political candidates and civilians from violence.
