Akuch Majok [right], a 18-year-old girl from Bor town who is set to marry her deceased boyfriend with her in-laws - courtesy

Akuch Majok and Mayen Deng, were young lovebirds from Jonglei State, whose tragic love story sparked public debate on the issue of ghost marriage in South Sudan.

The 18-year-old girl from Bor town was in love with her childhood friend, and as their love for each other grew day by day, they eventually promised to elope as husband and wife.

However, in a tragic turn of events the day before their planned elopement, Akuch was shocked to hear that Mayen had been shot dead in a crossfire skirmish.

In February this year, Mayen Deng and hundreds of other local youth were mobilized to take part in building the dyke around Bor as the area braced for a possible flash flood in the coming rainy season.

According to his best friend Gon Garang, two feuding young men reportedly opened fire at the dyke site forcing everyone to crawl on their stomach.

But Mayen, who has hearing impairment could not comprehend what was going on, so he tried to raise up his hands when he became the only victim of the shootout he knew nothing about.

After the fatal shooting of her boyfriend, Akuch decided to marry her late boyfriend in a rare occasion known as ghost marriage.

Speaking to Eye Radio, she recalls what could have been the sweetest moment of her life.

“Before Mayen left for the dyke, he came to me at home and we spoke and agreed that when he comes back from his place of work, he would find me at home as his wife,” she said.

Two days on, while preparing to elope to Mayen’s family, she came across her worst nightmare.

“When I got the information that he passed on, I thought to myself that I should keep the promise and that I should not run away because of his death. So that’s when I decided that I shall go to his house as agreed and be his wife regardless of him not being there,” she added.

Akuch and Mayen first met in 2015 when they were in their early teens.

They met again in 2018 as mature adults and Mayen expressed her feelings for her.

Akuch revealed that the deceased boyfriend approached her through his friends because he had hearing impairment.

“Before we started dating, he came home with one of his brothers to look for me. Mayen and I knew each other since childhood in our village, so when we met again, he did not know my home and so one of his brothers helped him locate my place,” Akuch said.

“His brothers came and told me that they wanted I and Mayen to be friends. So I told them that I’ll think about it and when I realized that I love Mayen, I told that I am ready to become his girlfriend.”

Akuch said she eventually got along easily with Mayen after learning different sign languages.

“Yes we would talk and understand each other. We used to communicate through sign language during our relationship. The brothers would come home often to convey Mayen’s message and that is how we were dating until we agreed to become husband and wife before he died.”

Akuch is now in the home of her deceased boyfriend and she says she is willing to accept any of Mayen’s brothers who will take the responsibility to produce children for the deceased.

“When I came home, I found one of Mayens’ brothers, but I am yet to be given to the one who will sire me Mayens’ children.”

Ghost marriages in South Sudan arise from the death of an unmarried man, his girlfriend may elope to the home of the deceased.

But in other situations, it could be a marriage where a deceased groom is replaced by his brother or relative.

Paul Malual is a cultural expert and lecturer at the University of Juba.

“The driving force behind ghost marriage is not only out of respect for the spirit of the dead, but also to create a family line for the dead so that his name stays alive,” Malual said in a phone interview with Eye Radio.

“They do not want to lose the identity of the deceased, so they marry a wife and name the children after him so that his name stays alive like a living person,

Malual also says another reason why the Dinka and the Nuer cherish this kind of marriage is how a family or clan is respected and feared because of the number of people in it.

The Dinka and Nuer people widely practice and cherish this unusual type of marriage.

However, one compelling or rather dark side of it is how a girl’s choice of spouse is hardly taken into consideration.

The bride is often given to the man who is deemed capable of taking care of her, other than the man she wishes to be with.

Malual suggests that the girl’s consent should be considered and respected.

“I am not against ghost marriage, which is an important part of our culture, we cannot interfere in the norms and traditions of ethnicities but nowadays, we cherish the fundamental human rights of everybody,” said Malual.

“… and I can only advise that the consent of a girl should be considered, her decision must be respected by both parties and she must be allowed to choose who she wants to be with.”

He however believes the practice is diminishing lately as a result of economic conditions, human rights and social interaction with other tribes.

There is no specific law governing marriage and divorce in South Sudan.

The national constitution recognizes the customary laws and traditions of dozens of ethnic groups as governing personal matters, including marriage and divorce, for their members.

A United States research on marriage in South Sudan suggests that women and girls in the country have severely limited rights when entering into or attempting to dissolve a marriage.