Gender Based Violence Court premises in Juba. |3 December 2022 |Credit: Lou Nelson.

The Gender-Based Violence Judge in Juba has issued a warrant against the police investigator for failure to appear in Court sessions three times.

Captain Joseph Deng is the investigator in the case where an SSPDF Brigadier General was accused of sexual harassment.

This was the fourth time the Judge has postponed the court sessions over the failure of the investigator to appear in court.

The presiding Judge Andrew Joshua scheduled the trial for May 25, 2023.

According to the police preliminary investigation, the SSPDF senior officer attempted to rape a lady after luring her to a hotel where he promised to give her money.

The financial assistance from the senior army officer was to help the woman travel to Egypt for treatment.

According to the police file on the day of the incident, the officer called the woman to pick up the money she had requested.

Speaking to Eye Radio on Tuesday, May 9, 2023, the complaint defends lawyer Josephine Adhet said the hearing was postponed after a police officer investigating the case failed to appear in Court.

“The investigator has not been coming to attend the Court sessions three times, so, this makes the Judge issue a warrant for the arrest of an investigator for not obeying and respecting the court’s order,”  said Lawyer Josephine Adhet.

“The investigator has been arguing that he has been sick, and that is the reason he has not been attending the Court sessions,

“The Judge ordered his arrest and set a session on the twenty-fifth of this month to hear the case of sexual harassment.”

According to section 396 of the South Sudan 2008 Penal Code, whoever intentionally engages in sexual harassment commits an offence, and upon conviction, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, liable to a fine or both.