Convicts during the sentencing at the GBV Court, Juba/Photo by Daniel Michael/25.10.2022

The Juvenile Court in Juba on Thursday sentenced a young man to seven years of imprisonment for defiling a 17-year-old girl.

According to Judge, Andrew Joshua lado the convict Emmanuel Eltyib Jarmico committed the crime at Hai Mauna Residential Area in Juba, last year.

Joshua said the convict made a judicial confession and says he was in love with the teenager.

However, the judge found him guilty of violating section 247 of the South Sudan Penal act 2008.

“Convict Emmanuel Altaib Sermiko you are here by sentenced to one seven years imprisonment effective from today the third of November 2022 for violation of section 247 of the republic act 2008,” said Judge Laod while pronouncing the judgement.

The court also ruled that the convict will also pay 700,000 South Sudanese pounds in compensation for damages done to the victim.

But his lawyer was reminded of the defendant’s right to appeal the case before 15 days.

Meanwhile, the convict’s father says some of the families misuse section 247 for extortion of money from the suspects.

Eltyib Jarmico claimed that GBV and Juvenile cases have become a business for some families, in what he termed as a total disregard for “our customary laws.”

He also said the statutory laws have made it difficult to deal with sexual offenses through customary laws, resulting in Juba Prison filling up with young convicts.

“I asks people not to take it as business people should go back to our customary always like back in the days if a girl is young and she gets a problem people should go back to it because I saw the customary law is not recognized,” he said.

But the legal framework in South Sudan outlaws child marriage. The 2011 transitional constitution of South Sudan states that no marriage shall be entered into without the free and full consent of the man and woman intending to marry.

According to Section 247 of the Penal Code, whosoever has sexual intercourse or carnal intercourse with another person, against his or her will or without his or her consent, commits the offence of rape, and upon conviction, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years and may also be liable to a fine.