An inmate was shot and killed by a prison guard Monday evening while trying to escape from the Wau Central Prison in South Sudan’s Western Bahr el Ghazal State.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday, the Director of the Prison Service in Western Bahr el Ghazal, Major General Atem Barac identified the inmate killed as Garang Malok Deng, 28.

The prison officer said Garang Malok was jailed in 2016 after being accused of killing two people.

“At around 7:30 PM, Garang jumped over the fence of the prison with chains on his legs and when he reached one of the buildings leading to Ayii Duang’s clinic, he was asked to stop but he refused to stop,” Barac said.

“Garang killed two people in 2016 and was brought to Wu Central Prison, and police officers come and take him to court but he always fights with judges calming to be a mad person. The body is currently at the hospital and we are waiting for the relatives to come,” he added.

The last time inmates were killed while attempting to escape from Wau Central Prison was in April 2020. At least two prisoners and two security officers were killed in clashes after a "mass prison break" in Wau.