By Yang Ater Yang
Two brothers, who were sons of the Executive Chief of Meen Payam in Rumbek North County, Lakes State, were killed in a gunfight on Wednesday following a dispute over a goat, according to a family member.
Santino Adong Keloktuol, an elder in the family, confirmed the incident, saying the two brothers had previously disagreed over a cow. The dispute was resolved by family members and elders without casualties or injuries.
He said the family later agreed that the elder brother would give the cow to his younger brother, while the younger brother would compensate his elder brother with a goat.
“ It was resolved that the elder brother should give the cow to his junior brother and that the junior brother pay the goat to his elder, which his junior brother accepted,” Keloktuol said.
However, according to Keloktuol, when the elder brother later went to ask for the goat, the disagreement escalated into gunfire.
“When the elder went to him and asked for the goat from his junior, who accepted to pay, the junior started to shoot his elder multiple times until he critically injured his elder brother. His elder brother responded by shooting his junior brother, and both died together,” he said.
Daniel Laat, Chairperson of CiSONs and CEPO coordinator in Lakes State, condemned the incident and called for families and communities to address disputes through dialogue.
He urged young people and other community members to seek help from family elders whenever disagreements arise.
“Whenever you have a dispute with a young brother over something, there is a need for you to report this to the family members and even to the community that can organise dialogue,” Laat said.
He said disputes over property and livestock should be resolved through family and community dialogue rather than violence.
Laat also called on the government to investigate the incident carefully and take steps to prevent the dispute from escalating into further violence within the family.
“We are urging the government to come in and investigate this with care and also to make sure that this issue does not spill into the family,” he said.
He appealed for calm and extended condolences to the family while urging community members not to retaliate or repeat similar acts of violence.
“We have seen a lot of similar happenings in the State where people are fighting themselves; even relatives are killing themselves over very minor disputes like this issue of a goat,” Laat said.
He emphasised that dialogue remains an important way of resolving disagreements among relatives, friends, and community members.
“Dialogue is the best way between you and your friend or between you and other family members and other community members in the society,” he said.