County commissioner’s bodyguard arrested after failed attempt to kill his boss

JUBA – A bodyguard of a county commissioner in South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria state has been arrested by the state authorities after a failed attempt to kill the commissioner, according to state police.

According to the Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) inspector in Nzara County of Eastern Equatoria, Elias Taban Louise, Nzara County Commissioner Richard Zizi survived an assassination plot by his bodyguard on who is identified as Stephan Kizito.

“What we know according to the investigation is that there is a deal in it. There was someone who sent him (bodyguard) to kill the county commissioner of Nzara and he has named the person who sent him,” he said, according to Radio Tamazuj.

“I have recorded all those things and I have handed them over to National Security, including the person who sent him, for further investigation. This is what I know and the case is now under National Security,” Taban added.

Radio Tamazuj is also quoting Commissioner Zizi as confirming the incident.

“Yes, indeed it happened on Wednesday when I prepared to go for work. One of my bodyguards threatened me. He said that there is a letter he wrote to me that he needs a telephone, uniform and other things for his support and that if those are not there, I will not go for work today,” the commissioner said.

“I told him please I don’t know why he is coming with this because I already have the letter and I am in the process to get them. He said I should give them. I could not understand that there was something behind it till he was arrested,” he added.

He further attributed the incident as results of the delay in graduation of the VIP protection forces which have not been graduated due to financial setbacks.

“According to security arrangements, there is the provision of training of VIP protection and it has not happened which has created a big gap,” Zizi said.

“So we are struggling to see who can protect VIPs and you can see someone coming from nowhere with a different character and who is not well trained. And most of the trained soldiers are in the training centres,” he added.