Koang Wuordol arrested over the murder of Sudanese teenager Yiel Gatluak

Koang Wuordol, who is set to be extradited to the NT over the murder of Yiel Gatluak, has ties to a notorious African youth gang.

Yiel Gatluak is being remembered as a "good bloke full of jokes and laughs" after his body was found on the outskirts of Alice Springs.

A man set to be extradited to the Northern Territory over the murder of a Sudanese teenager has ties to one of Victoria’s most notorious African youth gangs and was arrested over a planned fight at Melbourne’s White Night festival in 2019.

Koang Wuordol, 22, faced the Melbourne Bail and Remand Court on Sunday afternoon after he was arrested by Victorian police on Saturday morning.

Wuordol, who has an extensive history in the Victorian court system, will be charged with murder in the NT on Monday after magistrate granted the extradition request.

The NT resident is the fourth person arrested over the murder, with a 17, 20 and 21-year-old arrested earlier this week after Mr Gatluak’s discarded body was found on the outskirts of Alice Springs.

A 17 and 21-year-old are expected to be charged with Accessory after the fact (murder) and are expected to also face court on Monday. The 20-year-old has been released pending further investigations.

In 2019 it was reported Wuordol was one of 16 males charged over a planned fight at the family-friendly White Night festival in the Melbourne CBD between gang Next Gen Shooters, based in the southeast and a west-based rival Blood Drill Killers.

The “retaliation fight” was planned on social media after it was alleged Wuordol and 20-plus “African males” from the Next Gen Shooters gang forced entry into a “community cafe” in the inner-city suburb of Footscray.

It was reported Wuordol, who was 18 at the time, was charged with affray and violent disorder for his part in which members of the gang allegedly “armed with sharpened sticks, metal poles and kitchen knives” assaulted four people and caused damage to the premises, Dandenong Magistrates’ Court was told.

The Next Gen Shooters gang, also known as 710, has previously taunted police through social media to boast about “killing for fun” and making “cases pile up”.

Gang members – inspired by rap music – have posted with guns saying they are “ready to die” and being “savages”.

Northern Territory police commissioner Michael Murphy met with Mr Gatluak’s family on Wednesday in Alice Springs. NT police detectives met with his family in Melbourne on Sunday afternoon.

Earlier this week Mr Gatluak’s uncle, David Kong, told The Australian how his nephew was a “very loving young boy”, and that what the attackers had done was “absolutely unacceptable”.

“Yiel was a very loving young boy, who loved jokes and (was) very friendly,” Mr Kong said.

He said Mr Gatluak’s ambitions were to start a family and get married in Africa.

Since his passing, Mr Gatluak has been remembered as a “good bloke full of jokes and laughs”. Relatives have gathered at the site where his body was found, praying, singing, holding hands and laying flowers.

On Sunday evening a vigil will be held on his behalf in Melbourne, where he was born and his family live.

“Yiel was a wonderful and a loving son, brother, nephew, uncle, cousin and a true friend to many, who touched the lives of those around him,” Nyakuoar Gatluak wrote on a GoFundMe page set up to raise money for funeral costs.

“His heart was pure and he was always happy and kind to everyone.”