Late Alat Aten Kuei, a former healthcare worker who voluntarily served at Kuajok State Hospital - Courtesy

The South Sudan Nurses and Midwives Association in Juba has condemned the killing of a registered nurse in a road ambush on Christmas Day in Warrap State.

Authorities in the state told Eye Radio that the 27-year-old nurse was killed by gunmen while travelling from Kuajok to her home village to celebrate Christmas Eve with her family.

“It was at 7 PM on Christmas day when a lady called Alat Aten Kuei, a graduate of Mary College 2022 left Kuajok town on a motorbike, she fell into an ambush in a place called Ralbet and she was shot dead by the suspected armed youth,” Wol told Eye Radio.

Asunta was a graduate with a Diploma in Registered Nursing at St. Mary Help College class of 2022 in Wau, Western Barh El Ghazal state.

The single and hardworking healthcare worker voluntarily served at Kuajok State Hospital before her death.

Agnes Juan, the Executive Director says, the South Sudan Nurses and Midwives Association condemned the act.

“We’ve lost a registered midwife, who was shot and killed because of a revenge attack in Kuajok as she was going for Christmas holiday because her relatives killed someone, sometimes back, and now she has become the target and victim,” Agnes told Eye-radio’s Dawn show.

“We condemned this. If you’re shooting a healthcare worker, who will treat you?  Besides she’s a woman, how can you kill a woman, for God’s sake? Even if a man, should not be killed like that,” she said.

“Break the chain of revenge attacks and let us move together. As South Sudan Nurses and Midwives Association we have condemned this act.”

For his part, the South Sudan Nurses and Midwives Association’s President, Repent Khamis George is appealing to the relevant authority to protect healthcare workers in the country.

“The incident that happened in Kuajok, I’d like to appeal to the authority that protection of health care workers is very important and very paramount as well, wherever and whenever there are, they must be protected,” Khamis said.