Monument to honor USAID staff killed in Sudan and South Sudan before independence. | Photo: US Embassy/Facebook

The United States Embassy in Juba on Monday unveiled a monument to honor staff of the U.S. international development agency who lost their lives serving in Sudan and South Sudan.

The deceased are John Michael Granville a top USAID diplomat, and his driver Abdel Rahman Abbas, who were both assassinated in a terrorist attack in Khartoum on January 1, 2008.

Others are four USAID staff Andrew Tombe, Baudoin Tally, Dominic Morris, and Chaplain Lako, who were reportedly executed by a military tribunal in September 1992.

On Monday, June 5, 2023, U.S. Ambassador to South Sudan, Michael J. Adler unveiled a refurbished monument to honor the former USAID staff.

“We honor the memory of those who sacrificed their lives in the service of the United States, providing assistance to those in need on behalf of the American people,” reads the embassy statement.

Before his assassination in January 2008, Granville pioneered a project to provide South Sudanese with communication service including thousands of radios powered by generators and solar panels.

He also established Sudan Radio Service (now Eye Radio) – an independent broadcaster to equip listeners with the knowledge and tools to participate more fully in the peace-making, reconciliation, and development processes of Sudan.

Granville was attacked and killed immediately with his driver Abdel Rahman Abbas by two gunmen while being driven home from a New Year’s Eve party at the British Embassy in Khartoum.

According to Amnesty International, the other four staff were convicted of treason in secret military tribunal by the Sudanese government and executed in early September 1992.