In Summary
- Armed men in military fatigue reported to have demanded money from the driver.
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By The EastAfrican
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A Ugandan truck driver was shot dead by unknown armed men in volatile South Sudan, Ugandan police have said.
Samu Nyonjeza Yako, 28, a driver with Pan Afric Impex [U] Ltd, is said to have been killed last Wednesday in Rumbek town in central Lakes State on his way back after delivering cargo in the town.
According to a truck driver who spoke to Daily Monitor on condition of anonymity, Mr Yako was shot dead by armed men in South Sudanese military and police fatigues, who had staged a roadblock and demanded money from him.
The deceased is reported to have resisted, arguing that he had already paid money at another checkpoint.
He was shot four times in the neck.
Protest
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Following news of Mr Yako's death, Ugandan drivers protested the killing, demanding repatriation of the body.
More than 200 truck drivers, under the East African Drivers Association, have refused to cross into South Sudan and have parked their vehicles at the Elegu border post since last Thursday, citing insecurity along the Nimule-Juba highway.
On Saturday, Mr Yako's body was handed over to the Ugandan authorities at Elegu.
South Sudan is Uganda's largest market with exports in 2017 recorded at $299 million, according to the Uganda Exports Promotion Board. However, exports have steadily declined after war broke out in South Sudan in 2013.
Uganda’s leading exports to South Sudan are cereals, maize and wheat flour, sugar, iron and steel, cement, beer and soft drinks, motor vehicle re-exports, vegetable oils and soap lubricants.
– Reporting by the Daily Monitor
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