SSNPS (South Sudan National Police Service) police officers stand under a tree while they gather ahead of patrolling the streets of Juba, South Sudan on April 9, 2020. - South Sudanese police are enforcing a night curfew which was recently introduced by the government in order to slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. (Photo by Alex McBride / AFP) (Photo by ALEX MCBRIDE/AFP via Getty Images)

By Nancy Okenagwa

A Police officer who has been a guard to former minister of defunct Gogrial state has committed suicide by shooting himself in Kuajok.

According to a source, the man identified as Nyok Wol was found dead on a bed in his house in Kuajok the capital of Warrap state on Tuesday. Pictures of the police officer shared on social media show him lying in a pool of blood with a firearm on the body.

The state Secretary-General Akol Thony Akol has issued a statement on the incident saying that the police are yet to establish the reasons behind the suicide. He also stated that Nyok’s family members are under investigation to determine what must have transpired causing the death of the officer.

The deceased has left behind a wife and three children. This incident takes place barely a month after another officer Odingila Odong, 38 from South Sudan’s National Security Service shot himself in the town of Torit in Eastern Equatoria State.

Family and friends have continued to send messages of condolences on Nyok’s demise on Facebook with a greater part of them raising eyebrows on as to why the officer decided to brutally end his life.

A recent report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) attributed the key factors contributing to high rates of suicides as well as other related incidents such as sexual and gender-based violence, traumatic events, poverty and unemployment to mental health issues.