Soldier shoots wife in the head in Rumbek

An SSPDF soldier shot and wounded his pregnant wife at Luak Mayual village in Rumbek East at the weekend, police say.

“Yesterday [Sunday] morning, an SSPF soldier from Division III shot and wounded his pregnant wife in the head and stomach and fled,” Maj Elijah Mabor, state police spokesperson, told Mingkaman on Monday.

According to the authorities, the soldier identified as Chol Marial Dier, 35, was recently sued by his in-laws over unpaid bride price.

He explained that Chol had been staying with wife Awut Madit, 30, since 2010 until his in-laws started demanding payment of the bride price.

The Rumbek Town Court had asked Chol “to sit” with his in-laws to address the matter. Details of the bride price demand are not yet clear.

At the time of the attack, Mabor said Chol “never quarreled with his wife”, whom they have four children.

He stated that Awut is now in a critical condition at the Rumbek Hospital, where she was rushed to for medical attention.