Senior Official Among Fatalities as Road Safety Crisis Mounts in Northern South Sudan
[Suggested image placeholder: Aerial view of a rural highway in South Sudan]
Aweil East County’s Director of Land and Survey, Anei Chan Geng, has been killed in a road accident, one of two separate fatal incidents that have highlighted growing concerns over road safety in Northern Bahr el Ghazal, South Sudan.
The senior official died from severe injuries sustained in a head-on collision between motorcycles at Dokul, a location along the busy Wanyjok-Malualbaai highway. According to witness accounts, Geng was traveling to Malualbaai to conduct official land survey and road measurement duties when the accident occurred.
The second motorcyclist involved in the collision also died after being rushed to Malualkon Hospital, according to eyewitness Adut Deng, who described the scene as particularly distressing for community members. “Some of his bones were badly damaged and protruding,” Deng recounted, noting the victim was known as a hardworking director who served the community.
Separate Incident Claims Another Life
In a unrelated accident earlier in the week, a pickup truck conductor died in Aweil South County after falling from the moving vehicle, according to Diing Reech Diing, the Director of Traffic Police. The conductor succumbed to injuries shortly after the Monday incident.
Reech confirmed both fatalities reflect a worsening trend of careless road use in the region, attributing the accidents to overspeeding, poor riding habits, and general negligence. “These cases are happening because of poor riding and driving practices,” the traffic police director stated.
Broader Context of Road Safety Challenges
The consecutive fatalities occur against a backdrop of persistent road safety challenges across South Sudan, where inadequate infrastructure, limited traffic law enforcement, and growing vehicle numbers have contributed to high rates of traffic incidents.
Northern Bahr el Ghazal, like many regions in the world’s youngest nation, faces particular transportation safety hurdles as rural road networks expand faster than traffic management capabilities. The Wanyjok-Malualbaai highway serves as a critical economic corridor, seeing increasing commercial and passenger traffic.
Local authorities have renewed appeals for road users to prioritize safety, emphasizing that many accidents could be avoided if drivers maintained reasonable speeds and adhered to established traffic laws. The death of a senior public official engaged in official duties has particularly underscored the human cost of transportation risks.
As communities mourn the loss of both public servants and private citizens, the incidents have sparked broader conversations about infrastructure investment and traffic education needs in the region’s development planning.
Source: https://www.sudanspost.com/aweil-east-land-survey-director-among-two-killed-in-separate-accidents/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=aweil-east-land-survey-director-among-two-killed-in-separate-accidents