Picture illustrating injustice. (-)

More than 3,000 civil and criminal cases are still pending in courts in Jonglei State due to alleged lack of manpower.

There are no enough judges to handle the courts’ backlog, according to Mayen Maker, secretary of state affairs at the South Sudan Bar Association.

He says there are currently only two judges working at the county and high courts in the state.

Most of the judges are believed to have deserted the profession due to poor working conditions.

“When you see the environment is not favorable, you will not do the accurate process to serve the interest of justice because of the situation you are,” Mayen told Eye Radio via phone from Bor.

In 2017, President Salva Kiir dismissed 13 judges and justices through a presidential decree when they laid down their tools demanding the resignation of Chief Justice Chan Reec Madut, whom they said had failed to manage the Judiciary.

They accused the Chief Justice of failing to resolve their demands for allowances and better working conditions.

“The chief justice is supposed to look at the affairs of the judges,” he added.