Ugandan driver and mechanic were murdered in an ambush in South Sudan.

Two Ugandans were among three individuals killed by unknown gunmen on Wednesday afternoon along the Yei-Kaya route in South Sudan’s Central Equatoria State.

According to eyewitness sources, the incident occurred near Ligi, around two kilometers from Kaya to Yei, when three passengers of a Toyota Premio with registration number UAE 633E were ambushed by unidentified gunmen.

The Ugandan nationals have been identified as Abasi Nsubuga, a 42-year-old special hire driver, and Emanuel Serewada, a 40-year-old mechanic from Koboko District.

The third victim, whose identity was unknown at the time of publication, is thought to be a Tanzanian citizen.

The shooting was verified by Koboko Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Joseph Drake Mukiibi, who stated: “True, two of our indigenous and one unknown, maybe a Kenyan or a Tanzanian, were killed today by suspected rebels on the South Sudanese side.”

Mr. Muhammed Swaibu, head of the Koboko cab operators’ organization, said, “We have continued to lose drivers along the dangerous road.” After losing three colleagues in an ambush in South Sudan, it’s a really gloomy day for us in Koboko.”

The slain driver, according to Swaibu, was on his second journey of the day, bringing bags to Yei, when the shooting occurred.

“We have lost more than ten workers since last year, eight of them were drivers. It’s heartbreaking. What’s most infuriating is that only our Ugandan drivers are slain, whereas South Sudanese drivers on the same road are unharmed.”

By the time this story was published, the bodies of the deceased Ugandans had been retrieved from South Sudan and transported to the Koboko hospital mortuary, while the body of the Tanzanian national had been claimed by the South Sudan government and was being transported to the Tanzanian embassy for repatriation.

Mr Ashiraf Mambo, the district LC5 chairman for Koboko district, blamed the ongoing murders on the South Sudanese government’s incapacity to regulate her domain.

“”All of this is occurring because the South Sudan government has failed to rule her area,” he said.

In March of last year, four Ugandan drivers driving to Juba along the Koboko-Yei-Juba Road were assassinated by gunmen suspected to be from the National Salvation Front (NAS) camp, a well-known South Sudanese rebel organization.

Three Ugandans were assassinated along the same road in June 2021 by gunmen who the South Sudan authorities said belonged to NAS.