(JUBA) – A former minister from Northern Bahr el Ghazal State narrowly escaped an armed attack on Sunday afternoon in Juba’s Jingli neighbourhood, in a case that has raised further concern over rising urban crime in South Sudan’s capital.
James Jok Lual, who previously served as Minister of Labour and Public Service in Northern Bahr el Ghazal and is now a senior official in the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), said the incident occurred around 4 p.m. while he was speaking on the phone.
Lual recounted that an armed man approached him, pointed a pistol at him and ordered him to sit down. In response, he threw his phone at the assailant’s face to distract him and then fled the scene.
“I was walking while talking on the phone when a man suddenly pointed a pistol at me and told me to sit,” Lual told Radio Tamazuj. “I threw the phone at his face, and as he struggled, I ran.”
He said two other individuals quickly joined the attacker. After seizing his phone, the three men fled the scene on a motorcycle. Lual reported the incident to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in the Hai Cinema area of Juba later the same day.
No injuries were reported, and the value of the stolen phone was not specified.
Ruot George, co-founder of the Nile Youth Development Action civil society group, said the attack highlights worsening insecurity in Juba. He attributed the rise in crime to the country’s struggling economy and growing youth unemployment.
“The crime rate is increasing because the economy is deteriorating,” George said. “Many suspects are unemployed youths trying to provide for their families.”
George also criticised the government for what he described as a failure to provide adequate security for citizens and visiting officials. He noted that attacks on state leaders travelling to Juba have become increasingly common.
Police spokesperson Major General James Monday Enocka was unavailable for comment.
The incident follows another violent episode last week in Juba’s Sherikat neighbourhood, where the suspended commissioner of Cueibet County in Lakes State, Daniel Deng Mario Deng, and his family were attacked at their home. That attack reportedly involved an exchange of gunfire but ended without casualties.