JUBA – The Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS) and the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) have condemned the killing of veteran journalist Veronica Lucy Gordon in a road ambush in Western Equatoria State, calling for an investigation and accountability for those responsible.
Gordon was killed alongside Justin Hakim, a member of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), when unidentified gunmen attacked a vehicle carrying party delegates in Miri Loko village on Thursday evening.
UJOSS Secretary-General Majak Daniel Kuany Alier called on the authorities to investigate the attack, describing it as a serious incident requiring an urgent response.
“We strongly condemn the attack and demand an urgent probe from the authorities concerned,” he said in a statement issued on Friday.
The journalists’ union also called for those responsible to be identified and held accountable, saying the killing of a media professional was a matter of grave concern.
Mundri East County Caretaker Commissioner Matthew Daite Bakiet confirmed the deaths in a statement, identifying Gordon as an aspiring candidate on the SPLM party list for the National Assembly.
The vehicle was travelling from Lui in Mundri East County towards Mundri Town in Mundri West County after the party primaries when it came under attack along the Lui-Mundri road, Bakiet said.
He said two other SPLM members were injured and taken to Lui Hospital for treatment. They were identified as Jackson Sebit Boaza, an aspiring candidate for the State Assembly in Constituency No. 3, and Charles John.
“The vehicle was carrying eight delegates. Fortunately, the remaining occupants, including the driver, managed to escape into the bush and subsequently reached Mundri Town safely,” Bakiet said.
He called on security authorities to “immediately investigate the circumstances surrounding this tragic incident” and ensure the injured receive necessary medical attention. He also clarified that the vehicle was not burned during the attack.
Edmund Yakani, CEPO’s executive director, condemned the ambush, describing armed attacks as a violation of human rights and a crime punishable by law.
Yakani said political disagreements should be resolved through dialogue rather than violence, particularly during the political process ahead of the planned general elections.
“It is bad to resolve your dispute through the barrel of the gun. Better through dialogue,” he said.
He warned that resorting to armed violence to settle political disputes could threaten the country’s efforts to prepare for elections, adding that the attack was the first of its kind during SPLM primaries in the Equatoria region.
Yakani said CEPO would work with other human rights organisations to investigate the incident and establish the circumstances surrounding the attack.
Gordon was a former journalist with the South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC) and a co-founder of the Association of Media Women in South Sudan (AMWISS). She began her journalism career in 1983 and was seeking a place on the SPLM party list for the National Assembly.
The attackers have not been identified, and the motive for the ambush remains unclear.
