Police line

The suspect linked to the killing of a traditional leader in Tokiman East Boma, Rajaf Payam of Juba, has been arrested, according to a relative of the deceased.

Joseph Loku Aqualino, chief of Tokiman East Boma, was shot dead on December 30, 2025, by an assailant who opened fire while the chief was sitting at a nearby shop, George Lukojo, a family member, said.

Lukojo added that the attacker also shot and injured three other people before fleeing the scene.

“Chief was attending an annual party organized in the village. After the party he [late chief] left his house and went to a shop in the area, after sometime the suspect started shooting randomly while coming to the site where the chief was sited,” he explained.

“The shop keeper decided to investigate the source of the disturbance, upon approaching the area, he [shop keepers] was targeted by the assailant but managed to narrowly escape unharmed. When he reached the shop where the chief was sited, he shot him and other three people. We were called and by the time we arrived the chief was already dead,” he said.

The suspect was later apprehended by his own brothers and handed over to police, and a case has been filed at the Gumbo police station.

“The same night his brother apprehended him and handed him to the police; we filed a police case in Gumbo police station. We do not have anything to say but let the law take its cost,” he added.