Security organs directed to ensure safety of mosques

Central Equatoria State’s government has urged security organs to monitor places of worship specially mosques to ensure safety of worshipers after an imam was beheaded at the weekend.

On Friday, police apprehended a man residing inside the courtyard of the mosque at Nimra Talata area for allegedly slaughtering an imam and injuring two others.

The motive for the attack remains unclear.

Earlier, the Secretary General of South Sudan Islamic Council condemned the  Friday’s killing of a Muezzin inside a mosque at Nimra Talata area of Juba while dismissing terrorism links as speculated on social media.

A state security meeting on Tuesday, chaired by Deputy Governor Paulino Lukudu Obede confirmed the arrest of the suspect.

Gerald Francis who is the State Acting Minister of Information and Communication said the government directed the security organs to ensure people do not sleep in the mosques.

Meanwhile, he said, Central Equatoria State government also condemned an incident involving an attack and robbing of Jonglei State’s Minister of Parliamentary Affairs along the Juba-Bor highway by unknown armed criminals on Sunday.

In another development, the official said the meeting directed the Mayor of Juba City Council, the Commissioner of Juba County and relevant security organs to enforce the order aimed at reducing high water prices within Juba.