NAIROBI, KENYA — UN employee found dead South Sudan The international organization said in a statement, days after she was detained by security personnel.
Police spokesman Sanento Odul said that Army Lieutenant Lino Mariak Chol and two other soldiers were arrested after they confessed to the murder and revealed the whereabouts of the body. The body was found on Thursday in a residential area.
Five South Sudanese soldiers transferred Paul Roche Mayol, a South Sudanese citizen, from a UN vehicle on Monday following a routine patrol to a camp for displaced people on the outskirts of the northern city of Wau. Odul said that the UN vehicle in which Mayol was traveling stopped on the side of the road after its tire was punctured.
“We are devastated by the loss of our colleague,” Anita Kiki Gbeho, head of the UN mission in South Sudan, said in a statement on Friday.
Mayol was a language assistant who had worked with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, or UNMISS, since its establishment in 2011.
UN mission spokeswoman Priyanka Chaudhry said that the authorities and the UN mission are trying to determine the exact manner of death.
Chowdhury said that the United Nations Mission in South Sudan had no indication that the killing was ordered or planned.
Following his arrest on Monday, the United Nations contacted army commanders regarding Mayole’s whereabouts and UN officials were invited to tour the army’s detention facilities in Wau.
Gbeho said the murder was “unacceptable” and called for an immediate and comprehensive investigation to ensure that the responsible parties are held accountable.
The South Sudanese army did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
No motive has been determined.
South Sudan has long been one of the most dangerous countries in the world for aid workers, and attacks and kidnappings have increased in 2025. In the first half of the year, 25 aid workers or contractors were killed or injured, up from 15 during the same period the previous year. The United Nations stated that the vast majority of aid workers who are victims of violence are from South Sudan.
The United States warned earlier this month that it might cut off foreign aid to South Sudan, and accused the government of imposing exorbitant fees on aid organizations and obstructing operations.
The UN mission in South Sudan is downsizing after a 15% budget cut. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said that this reduction comes amid a sharp renewal of fighting that has left more than 1,000 civilians dead, some in random bombings or extrajudicial killings at the hands of security personnel.