Lodu Payam community leaders meet CES Governor Jadalla. November 20, 2024. (Photo: CES/Facebook).

Community leaders from Lodu Payam in Juba County have met Central Equatoria Governor Augustino Jadalla to raise security concerns after the killing of a 19-year-old schoolgirl at an examination center on Monday.

The victim named Lilian Henry Musa was strangled to death by unidentified assailants moment after she stepped out of her reading place to take a phone call, according to her family.

The victim’s uncle Edward Deyan said Lilian had moved from a nearby village to Borei Primary School to sit in the only examination center in the area.

According to him, Lilian had sat for the first paper on Monday and was revising with her colleagues in the evening – when she received call and walked out. She did not come back and her colleagues went searching and failed to connect with her cellphone.

A few hours later, she was found dead near the school with signs of strangulation on her throat, and teeth bites on her shoulder.

Two days after the incident, the community of Lodu Payam led by chief Justine Lado Wani visited Governor Jadalla to discuss issues of conflicts of land grabbing and security challenges in the area.

Governor Jadalla assured the community of the State’s government commitment in addressing the challenges, according to a press statement from his office.

“He condemned the killing of a primary eight pupil who was alleged to have been strangled to death in one of the examination centers in Lodu Payam and directed for legal action on the incident.”

Juba Commissioner Emmanuel Tete Ezbon, who attended the meeting, reportedly called for “collective, trustworthy and genuine efforts” in handling the issues of the land disputes.

Addressing the media after the meeting, Lodu Payam chief Justin Lado Wani urged immediate intervention of the government in tackling issues of land grabbing in the area.

“We as chiefs, we are for everyone and when we tell you that a place has been demarcated, don’t go there because that place is now for someone else. If a place is demarcated it means it is the government that have allocated such place for people,” he said.

On her part, Cicilia Laku, a member of the delegation, called for urgent investigation and arrest of perpetrators who killed the primary eight pupil.

She further urged for South Sudanese to desist from the culture of violence and embrace peaceful co-existence.

“We as the people of Lodu Payam, we stand by our President and Governor. The President is our leader and as citizens of this country South Sudan, we don’t want the killings to continue,” said Cicilia.