Inmate at Juba Central Prison -

The Justice and Human Rights Observatory have criticised police investigators and court authorities for allowing a man accused of having an affair with a murder victim to serve as an interpreter during investigations and court proceedings, describing the move as a serious miscarriage of justice that contributed to a wrongful conviction.

The case involved Yuhanna Gabrial Michael, an Eritrean national who spent 12 years on death row after being convicted of murdering his wife in 2014.

Rights activists say the conviction was deeply flawed because the same man allegedly involved in the adulterous relationship with the deceased woman was used as a translator while police recorded statements and during court hearings.

Speaking on the matter, Executive Director of the Justice and Human Rights Observatory, Godfrey Victor Bola, said the case exposed serious weaknesses in the justice system.

“The police erred in their pursuit of justice by employing a man accused of having sex with the woman he allegedly murdered as a translator in a case in which he was involved,” Bola said. “In the investigation and court proceedings, he was translating the statements of the man accused of having sex with his wife.”

According to Bola, Yuhanna discovered his wife committing adultery with another man inside their home on several occasions, circumstances that later resulted in a violent confrontation in which the woman died from knife injuries Bola explained..

“During his investigation, the same man who was committing adultery with his wife was used as a translator in the police and also translator in court,”.

The interpreter was interpreting his own stories against Johannes and was telling his own version of the story, but really what happened was not what he was telling the court, leading to wrongful conviction and sentences to death by hanging.

Bola argued that the court failed to properly consider the issue of severe provocation, despite criminal law recognising provocation as a mitigating factor in homicide cases.

“Yuhanns acted out of continuous provocations and in the heat of passions due to severe provocation leading to his loss of self-control,” he said. “In this situation the criminal law considers such an act as a mitigation factor, but for Johannes at trial it was not the case.”

The rights activist said his organisation decided to intervene after witnessing what it described as the suffering and injustice faced by Yuhanna while on death row.

“I saw the suffering of Yuhanns,” Bola said. “We felt the injustice done to him and we were compelled to fight for justice for Johannes like any other death row inmate facing a threat of execution day and night.”

The Court of Appeal later agreed with the defence arguments and overturned the murder conviction under Section 206 of the Penal Code Act 2008, replacing it with a manslaughter conviction and ordering Yuhanna’s immediate release from prison.

In their ruling, the appeal panel consisting of Justice Aban Atong Onwar, Justice John Yel Aleu and Justice Dr. Charles Oyo Nyawelo stated: “This is an appeal against both conviction and sentence arising from the judgment of the High Court of South Sudan, wherein the Appellant, Yuhanns Gabril Michael, was convicted of murder under Section 206 of the South Sudan Penal Code Act, 2008, and sentenced to death by hanging by the neck till death.”

The judges added that the appellant challenged “the legality” of the conviction and sentence imposed by the High Court.

Following the ruling, Yohanna entered the prison he was 29 years old and now 41 years old, expressed relief after spending more than a decade behind bars.

“I am an Eritrean citizen who was arrested in 2014 for a murder I committed,” Yuhanna said after his release. “I killed my wife because she committed adultery. I was arrested and imprisoned, and today the Court of Appeal’s decision was upheld, ordering my release on May 11, 2026, after the charge was changed from premeditated murder to manslaughter.”

“I thank the government of South Sudan and all those who stood by me,” he added.

The ruling has sparked wider debate among legal and human rights groups over fair trial standards, the role of interpreters in criminal proceedings and the handling of death penalty cases in South Sudan.