Leaders of the united South Sudan Bar Association share a light moment after reaching a consensus at Oasis Hotel in Juba on Tuesday November 12, 2019. Credit/Charles Wote/Eye Radio

The Court of Appeal in Juba has annulled the election of Issa Muzamil as the President of the South Sudan Bar Association.

It invalidated the general assembly that installed Muzamil in 2020.

The court ordered that James El-Teib Jaz proceeds to lead the association of lawyers and advocates in South Sudan.

“The verdict was announced a week and a half ago, and today [Wednesday] is the hand-over of the office of the Bar to James El-Teib and his leadership,” an advocate confirmed to Eye Radio.

The official handover was done in the presence of the Vice President of the Bar Association, and Ajak Mayol, Secretary-General.

El-Teib and Muzamil have been leading different camps in the association.

But the two sides reportedly agreed to work together and organize an election of a new executive body in 2019.

The elections were held last year. Some members of the Bar Association elected Advocate Issa Muzamil as their chairperson.

However, a section of lawyers filed a case in the Court of Appeal against the election.

In their petition, they argued that the exercise was in violation of the Bar Association rules and regulations.

They also said they were denied the right to vote in the polls.

The case was heard by Judge Stephen Simon, Bol Lol Wang and Jairo Doat Bior.

Last month, the Court of Appeal made a decision to overturn the election of Muzamil.

It revoked both the formation of the electoral committee and the bar association elections that were held on February 19 and 20, 2020.

The court also terminated the Electoral Committee headed by the advocate Ajo Noel Julius.

In its 10 pages’ verdict, the judges said the results declared by the General Assembly of the Bar Association are null.

It then reinstalled the chairmanship to James El-Teib, and advocate Ajak Mayol the Secretary-General.

The Judiciary and Bar Association electoral committee on Wednesday handed over the offices of the Bar Association to the leadership of El-Teib.

“They have not made any appeal [because] we know the appeal is 2 weeks or 15 days that is the legally given time where anybody who expressed his discontent with any verdict of the court is allowed by the law to appeal,” said Advocate Reech Malual, the association’s Deputy Secretary for Information.

“So if you don’t do that within 15 days it would be understood that you are comfortable with the outcome of the judgement.”

The court tasked Al-Teib and his team to convene a general assembly meeting for the election within sixty days.

Issa Muzamil and his team are yet to comment on the matter.

He is reportedly out of the country.