Grace Benjamin (-)

The Gender-Based Violence Court in Juba on Friday dismissed the murder case against a 43-year-old woman who was jailed for seven years at Juba Central Prison, after prosecutors failed to provide evident of guilt.

Grace Benjamin was accused in 2016 of poisoning and killing a mother and her two children in the Munuki Residential Area.

She was arrested and charged under section 210 of the South Sudan Penal Act 2008.

“This woman was accused in 2016 of poisoning her neighbors, a woman and her two children. They died, so the families of the deceased opened a report against the police. Claiming that she had poured poison into the food,” said defense lawyer Aluel Makuac Majok.

The trial was then postponed after the court heard the statements of the investigator and the complainant.

In 2021, defense Lawyer Aluel submitted an inquiry request for a bailout of the accused due to the long absence of complainants, which the court granted this year.

However, the Gender-Based Violence court judge Andrew Joshua on Friday dismissed the case and ordered the release of the accused.

“Through the trial procedures, the complainant was not able to prove the charge against my client, even forensic Lab. After questioning all parties, the court was unable to prove the charge of murder under section 210 of the South Sudan 2008 penal act against my client.”

“Therefore, on Friday, the court decided to release my client after the witnesses failed to prove the charges, as their testimony was that we only heard but did not see. Therefore, the court decided to dismiss the case and release the accused.”