Lainya town center | Credit | Courtesy

A member of parliament has condemned the horrific killing of a man, his wife, and their two children by suspected herders in Lainya County of Central Equatoria State.

On Thursday, suspected armed herders allegedly abducted the family of four from the home of a local leader in Wonduruba Payam.

Ambrose Lomin who represents Wonduruba area said the family was later found murdered in the bush on Friday.
 
“They went to the house of our Executive Chief, Charles Lokiko, and abducted four people in the house, a man and his wife plus two children,” Lomin said.

“It happened yesterday [Friday] in the evening but today [Saturdat] in the morning, the parents of the people who disappeared followed them and found the bodies lying dead, they shot them,” he added.

Authorities are yet to identify the wandering herdsmen who allegedly killed four family members as they are on the move to the home origin.

Lomin condemned the killing, which he said created panic among his farming constituents.
 
“We condemn it and we want this thing to stop. I call upon our people of Wonduruba to remain calm as the government and as representatives in the government, let them give us room to follow this issue with the levels of the government.”

The lawmakers also said the armed men are believed to be from Terekeka County.

In response, Juma Wilson who is the chairperson of Tali Community in Terekeka could not confirm the incident.
 
“I have got this information through our social media here and we are trying to know or get an exact report because that area is not occupied by Mundari alone. So we are now trying to get this information, either it is true or it is not true,” he told Eye Radio.

Last month, representatives of Wonduruba and Lainya expressed concerns over the disruption of farming by cattle.
They raised the issue in a meeting with Terekeka communities in Juba to discuss modalities of ensuring peaceful coexistence among their communities.

This week, the governors of Central and Eastern Equatoria States urged the Council of States to enact laws that will regulate the movement of cattle and mitigate recurring cattle-related conflicts.