Judge's gavel in courtroom - (Photo: Courtesy).

A mobile court in Nimule town of Eastern Equatoria State has charged two individuals with poaching and fined them to pay an amount of 250,000 South Sudanese pounds each or face a five-year jail term.

Convicts Atheib Osmane and Carlo Ali were arrested by the Ugandan authorities on August 16, 2022, for allegedly selling elephant tasks at the Ugandan border town of Elegu.

The suspects were initially to be tried at a court in Kampala.

But they were extradited to South Sudan upon the request of the wildlife authorities, who preferred to have them tried in Nimule.

Philip, the lawyer representing the Wildlife, Conservation, and Tourism Ministry said the two men were convicted for killing the elephant at Nimule Park.

“They had been arrested by the Ugandan government Police on the side of Elegu, So the court today passed the judgment against the two accused,” he said.

“So the judgment for the first accused, is he is to pay two hundred and fifty thousand SSP as a fine, and failure to pay the fine, he will spend five years in prison and for the second accused also, he is to pay two hundred and fifty thousand also SSP as a fine, instead of payment, he will stay five years in prison”.