By Mike Rwothomio
KOBOKO
A suspected SPLA-IO rebel in South Sudan and resident of Pijoke Village, Ajipara Parish, Lobule Sub-county in Koboko District has been put out of action after he shot dead one of his father’s tenants at Wajju refugee base camp.
Asio Moses was killed in a gun-fight at Drunyo Village, Asunga Parish, Midia Sub-county in Koboko District, along the Koboko–Yumbe road after security forces intercepted him while he was fleeing after the heinous act.
According to SSP Josephine Angucia, the West Nile Regional Police Spokesperson, Asio killed Ititu Mariam, a 68-year-old female adult of Kakwa tribe, also a South Sudanese refuge on Wednesday, 5 August 2026, at 1:00 pm at Wajju 01 Cluster, Ajipara Parish, Lobule Sub-county, Koboko District.
She says Asio Moses (now deceased), aged 38, of Kakwa tribe, a suspected SPLA-IO rebel in South Sudan, a son to one of the landlords of Wajju refugee base camp in Koboko District, came from his SPLA-IO rebel activities in South Sudan.
He gathered some of his father’s tenants, mostly women, and demanded 10,000 shillings from each of them for the use of his father’s land. Some of them paid, but one Etitu Marine did not have the said amount and pleaded with him to excuse her. Instead, Asio Moses pulled out a gun hidden in his black jacket and shot Etitu Marine dead instantly. He then fled the scene to an unknown destination.
When this information reached Koboko CPS, the DPC Koboko later informed the army commander of 71 Battalion, that immediately organised a joint intelligence-led operation in which Asio was intercepted along the Koboko–Yumbe road.
Police said he was put out of action after a serious exchange of gunfire. His gun was recovered by the officers and exhibited.
Data Bernard, the bodaboda rider who was carrying Asio, was arrested together with his motorcycle and detained at Koboko CPS to assist in investigations. Police opened a case of murder by shooting.
The bodies of both deceased persons were taken to Koboko Hospital where postmortems were conducted. The body of Etitu Marine was handed over to the relatives immediately after the postmortem for a decent burial.
Statements were recorded from relatives of both deceased and other relevant witnesses.
The second scene of crime, where the suspect was shot dead, is located at Drunyo Village, Asunga Parish, Midia Sub-county in Koboko District, along the Koboko–Yumbe road.
“Investigations indicate that one Asio Moses, the deceased, has been an SPLA-IO rebel in South Sudan. That the deceased suspect has been a son of one of the landlords in Wajju base camp, and he usually demands for money forcefully from his father’s tenants whenever he sneaks back from his SPLA-IO activities in South Sudan,” Angucia said.
Inquiries continue under Koboko CRB 345/2026.
The porousness of West Nile Region borderlines with South Sudan and DR Congo, which are facing insurgencies, enables easy trafficking of weapons across the border, hence exposing the communities in the region to gun violence.
Police encourage the general public to ensure neighbourhood watch and report people holding guns illegally to the nearest authorities for their timely arrest and the removal of their illegal guns to prevent gun violence in the region and in the entire country.
