Bolis Luka, 19, in the middle; Thomas Peter, 18, on left and Sebit Buol, 20 in the dock on Tuesday, September 2021 | Credit | Michael Daniel/Eye Radio

The high court in Juba has found three Lemon Gaba men guilty of gang-rape and murder charges.

The accused are Thomas Peter, Bolis Luka and Sebit Buol, aged 18, 19 and 20, respectively.

On 27 June 2018, the young men sexually assaulted Elizabeth Modi and Kola Wani and then killed them at Lemon Gaba.

That year, the women were aged 42 and 45, in that order.

When they first appeared before the court, the three confessed to raping and killing the women.

The court will pass judgement on Wednesday next week.

According to Article 206, premeditated murder is considered if the act that caused the death was committed with the intention of causing the death.

Or if the perpetrator of the act knew that the death was a probable result rather than merely a possible result of an act or any bodily harm that was intended to cause it with the same act. And it’s punishable by death by hanging.

However, the lawyer for the victims’ families – Gary Raymond – says they will likely be asked to choose the sentence, in accordance with .

“They will be asked whether for blood compensation or death penalty,” Raymond told the media on Tuesday.

However, the case had been dragging since then over absence of forensic evidence.

In August 2020, Raymond – who is offering free legal services – argued that the government was obligated to pay any cost of investigation “because investigation lies on the government’s shoulder, not the individual”.

He also said there was no need for forensic evidence since the accused had already confessed to having committed the crimes.