Category: Justice

Prisoners at crowded Juba prison die of suffocation, says official

At least two inmates on a trial list have suffocated to death this month due to overcrowding at Juba National Prison, according to Director of the facility.

The Prison built in 1940 with the capacity to accommodate 500 inmates is now a home to 2838 convicts and suspects awaiting trial.

There are 937 convicts including 190 on death row and 1816 awaiting trial.

” Some cases of death occur among the waiting inmates who are the majority, but there are two cases (this month). Many cases of suffocation occur to inmates due to overcrowding in the prison,” 1st Lieutenant General, Atok Atem Barack told Eye Radio during an inspection visit to the inmates by the Ministers of Justice and Interior on Monday.

Gen. Atems said the severe crowding has also put inmates under psychological stress -with many, suffering from hygiene-related illnesses.

“They are waiting for the trial procedures, which may take a long time, and they know that they will be executed, which leads to the creation of a psychological condition and physical diseases that lead to death.”

General Atem added that there are some suspects whose prison orders haven’t been renewed since 2020 and he called on the court authorities and the prosecutors to cooperate in renewing the prison order.

Young man handed 5-year jail term for defiling minor girl in Juba

The Gender-Based Violence Court in Juba has sentenced a 22-year-old man to five years imprisonment for defiling a minor girl in Juba about mid-last year.

According to the Court verdict file Eye Radio got access to on Tuesday, the presiding judge Andrew Jushow Ladu found Laku Mundria Laku guilty of committing the crime in May 2023.

A photo of the unnamed victim was found in the convict’s phone, according to a prosecutor’s attestation.

During the court session, convict Laku argued that the girl told him she was 19 years old when they met.

However, before the verdict, convict Laku was said to have confessed the wrongdoing after 5 months of deliberations in the court over the case.

According to Judge Lado, Laku violated section 247 of the South Sudan 2008 Penal Act and was fined  SSP 1M in reparation to the victim.

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