Human Rights Watch calls Kajokeji summary executions “emblematic of impunity”, demands the release of detained civilians held in military camps

The summary execution on May 25 of three Kajokeji locals; 16-year-old Justin Lisok Lomuresuk, his 18-year-old brother Saviour Yamba Lomuresuk and 38-year-old neighbour, Taka Iga Wani, has been described as indicative and emblematic of impunity by the Human Rights Watch.

The report also called for the release of the detained – Kabang Jeska (sister of the two executed Lomuresuk brothers) and her two-year-old child.

Civilians should never be held in military facilities. Authorities should release the remaining two and ensure all army officers implicated in these criminal violations are held to account in civilian courts.

On May 25, 16-year-old Justin Lisok Lomuresuk, a primary school student from Kiri boma of Kajokeji in South Sudan’s Central Equatoria state, was cutting wood when he found the decomposing body of a soldier tied to a tree. He told his siblings, who then reported it to local authorities.

The next day, while villagers, local officials, and police gathered at the scene, around 25 soldiers arrived in pickup trucks and motorcycles. A commanding officer ordered Lomuresuk, his 18-year-old brother, Saviour Yamba Lomuresuk, and a 38-year-old neighbour, Taka Iga Wani to sit down…

Read here what happens next as described and investigated by Human Rights Watch Researcher Nyagoah Tut Pur