CHAPTER 9. South Sudan’s Courts: Statutory Court Cases

It is still a very new Nation-State of the Republics of South Sudan in Africa, but there are formal legal systems installed in their Court of Laws in South Sudan. And this legal Court System are unlikely arranged from federal levels down to local governments’ level of pariah of Payams and Boma courts. The Supreme Court, of course, is the highest court of lands established on this orbiting and rotating exoplanetary of Earth. And they have probably had appointed nine (9) justices with their Chief Justice. They are installed to oversight and review the juridical Court systems of the lands. It must be striking and stunning to most people that South Sudan has already had established a formal legal system. During the last those transitional six (6) years term for 2005 CPA Agreement’s referendum votes in 2011, they were working to bring 1980s Sudan’s Civil Wars to Justice for their past unjustified brutality.

Yet, there is not any statutory laws established. However, they have had adopted, or inherited the customary laws and traditional laws from the 1890-1953 British colonial powers and from their localities. Most statutory cases have had been tried in the Court. There are only few statutory cases like property cases, which are yet not tried in the Court. However, they unlikely did not have those statutory cases ‘fit and proper’ according to crime in their nature. They probably did not produce verdicts until statutory laws are made.

Warring sectarian clans of Awulian sections’ statutory case: Chol Maduor (From Pan-Diing Section) vs. Majok Atem Majok (From Pan Akech Section), (Nov. 20^th, 2010)

These two gentlemen fought in ‘wut’ in Dinka language meaning cattle camp in Pawuoi livestock camp due to ‘zhien’ meaning livestock internal boundaries previously put in place by elders of the land. And Chol Maduor had accused Majok Atem of trespassing to his ‘zhien’ internal boundaries. Within no time elapse, Chol Maduor rushed into fight and hit Majok Atem Majok in a head with a ‘shepherd stick’, or herdsmen’s sticks. Other people came in and took Chol Maduor away from the fighting ground. In meantime, Chol Maduor was taken away while Majok Atem, on one hand, ran and grasped a working livestock’s guarding machine gun.  And as he returned, he noticed that his fighting opponent was nowhere to be found. He probably hid himself,” asserted Panyagor Magistrate Court Clerk, Mr. Bol Ayiik Bul from Lith Payam Districts of Adhiok section clans in Twic East County, Jonglei State in South Sudan inAfrica.

Majok Atem also grasped a shepherd spear and intentionally injured a cattle calf of Chol Maduor, in the thigh, instead. Since Mr. Chol Maduor has hurt him in the head, he eventually did not get a hold of Mr. Majok Atem. Awulian sections split themselves into various Awulian sections of Pan-Diing against Pan-Akeech. And they fought each other until Jonglei State’s Police Squad Unit in South Sudan in Africa came in to stop them from escalating into sectarian fightings. Majority of Awulian sections says that they were caught fighting. And they were eventually taken into jail cells, where they probably have had been handcuffed, and/or lock up.

Decision

Good thing was that Chol Maduor’s cattle calf did not die of inflicted wounds. And therefore, the collateral damage worths a compensation was not yet entailed in their ruling.During the rulings, there were the Council of Dinka Ethnic Groups’ Elders(COE), and the Awulian section clans’ Paramount Chief, Mr. Manyok Deng Biar,alongst with Council of Dinka Ethnic groups’ Elders(COE) representative, Mr.Yoro Gak Angok. And of course, the Jonglei State Police Department’sRepresentative in Africa were also called to be present. They are expected to listen to the victims, whose other groups’ reconciliation hearings wasawaiting. They did not fight again or resume a bloodshed sectarian fightings one more time,” explains by Panyagor Magistrate Court Clerk, Mr. Bol Ayiik Bul.

Cattle Robbery Case: Bol Achijang Duot vs. Gatkuoth Nyok Bol, (September 3^rd, 2010)

It was not easy to get a hold of Panyagor Magistrate Court Clerk, Mr. Bol Ayiik Bul. However, I waited for him for few minute folds away from his desks. And there He came. Of course, this is coming from his memory of statutory case from court records as He wrote it in the time of proceedings. And therefore, everything was what he found in the Panyagor Magistrate Court dockets in the village/Town of Panyagor, in South Sudan in Africa.

Court Clerk Bol Ayiik Bul

Bol Achijang, an accusing plaintiff, recognized a cattle cow in the Public market. And both Gatkuoth and Mayar, the statutory case dependent, on behalf of Gatkuoth asserted that it was their cow and He wanted to resell it. This cattle, which was recognized in the Public market, described as it was among a thirty heads (30) of livestock raided between the 2006 and 2007. Mayar, the person, who was caught reselling a livestock of someone else as accusing plaintiff referred it to. He went home and told Gatkuoth what happened in the village/Town of Panyagor Public market which was sponsored by the South Sudan’s World Food Programme(WFP) and the Twic East County, combined. Both Mayar and Gatkuoth persisted that they brought this cattle cow from Pibor County of the Murle Ethnic groups’ residential areas. And He rejected the way an accusing plaintiff, Mr. Bol Achijang Duot explained it to the Panyagor Magistrate Court’s panel of grand jury selections.

Decision

Sitting Judge Francis Amum Awin from Wangaru County Court dismissed a statutory case, where they wanted to be settle it down. Since it was beyond their jurisdictions scope, they ended up referring this statutory case to the Jonglei StateHigh Court of Appeal in the village/Town of Bor in South Sudan in Africa. And also there was not any appropriate criminal penal code laws to execute, or to draw a final rulings. It was tried, however this criminal case of cow recognition is hard to give a verdict since there is not any written customary laws, and traditional laws as well. So Judges Francis Amum Awin decided it to refer this criminal case back to Jonglei State Court in Bor Town so that they can make their state of minds on what to do. And Jonglei State Governor Kuol Manyang Juuk can do his work combined. There is not any written statutory law or property law inherited from 1890-1953 British Colonial governments, and from 1956-1972 the Government of Khartoum regime of Old Sudan. Jonglei State Court of Appeal can unlikely look if recognized cattle cows can be returned back to the criminal case dependent with investment compensation. This was stolen cattle cow. And therefore, they will return it to the cattle dependent.

Another Cattle Robbery Case: Aleu Kuek Aleu vs. Majok Luk Mabil , (Dec.14^th,  2010)

A cow or a grown-up cattle calf was also recognized in the Public market here in Panyagor town, Twic East County in South Sudan. When it was about to be sold, .Mr. Aleu Kuek, an accusing plaintiff, said it is his cattle calf to which it disappeared in August 2009 in the village/Town of Wernyol raiding in Lith Payam districts in South Sudan. A Criminal dependent, Mr. Majok Luk told Mr. Aleu Kuek that he bought this cattle calf from undisclosed witness person. Of course, they both had brought into their witnesses to the court.

Decision

Sitting Judges Francis Amum Awin did not grant a verdict, but the Panyagor Magistrate Court decided torefer it back to the Jonglei State High Court in Bor Town in South Sudan. Since this statutory case is ‘beyond their jurisdiction’ scope, they need the Jonglei State High court to give a verdict on what to do with this criminal case. Panyagor Magistrate Court Clerk, Mr. Bol Ayiik Bul persisted that there is not any statutory laws, or property laws inherited to execute this criminal case of cattle cow recognition. But only Jonglei State Court can decide what to do with it, the grand jury selections of Panyagor Magistrate Court will vote for their final verdicts. The Jonglei State Governor Kuol Manyang Juuk and Jonglei State Attorney General, Mr. Michael Makwei Lueth will either preside in the over grand jury selections in the Court. The South Sudan’s history narrative cannot be told without the Old Sudan’s trajectory trends.

Incident of Cattle Rustling from the village of Pajoma in South Sudan

It was evening of of November 10^th, 2010 when this incident of cattle robbery happened. And there were only three (3) cattle herdsmen, who were looking after them that day. Of course, these three (3) cattle herdsmen were the same people, who saved these cattle from nine (9) households. According to Mr. Deng Biowei Deng, these three (3) cattle herdsmen did not see livestock raiders at all, whatsoever. And they did not know what ways, where cattle raiders penetrated in the cattle pasture. They were magically vanished, and stealthily outmaneuvered those stolen cattle. In meantime, they heard the drumbeat of gunshot sounds, where these three (3) cattle herdsmen were literally got shot into death. This incident of Pajomba livestock raiding to which it happened in November 10^th, 2010, was peculiar in its nature. And number of these people ran after them to save livestock from robbers and unfortunately community people did not get cattle robbers. Raided livestocks just were unlikely taken closer to Atedaan livestock camp, and Paduon livestock camp in South Sudan. And these livestock were afterward saved from the  Murle Ethnic groups, or from unknown cattle enemies, where they could be recognize through footprints on the grounds,” added Ameer Chol Duop and Aluel Deng Kudior. It was once evening when cattle of Pajomba village were taken from 9 households, where these three (3) cattle herdsmen were after the livestock until their dead bodies were found,” says Mr. Khot Atem Dut and Agau Atem Lueth.

These stolen livestock according to Mr. Deng Biowei Deng, they probably were taken closer to Atedaan and Padon cattle camp in the South Sudan. Once time, these were cattle camps for residents of Kongor Payam districts in South Sudan. Cattle were unlikely returned before taking them pass the previous cattle camps of Piomyom, Atedaan, and Padoon, which were once time used for cattle ranching,” stressed Mr. Khot Atem Dut and Agau Atem Lueth. Of course, cattle raiders did not take livestock pass the GTZ dyke dam. However, they were about to reach it, or retrieve back from 2010 Murle Ethnic groups’ attackers.

Mr. Deng Biowei once joked that cattle rustlers did not kill any person in South Sudan’s attempted attacks. He continued that this might have had been his first incidents back in summer of 2010. When cattle raiders shot down two (2) cattle herdsmen, nobody kept hesitating of not going after 2010 Murle Ethnic groups’ attackers.

As I asked them about what kind of defense system arrangements, they have had used, Mrs. Ameer Chol Duop, Mr. Deng Biowei, and Mrs. Aluel Deng Kudior said that they did not know what type of defense mechanism to which they have had used. Probably, they might have had borrowed machine guns from concerned Jonglei State patrol department in South Sudan in Africa.

Reactions

It would be better if people run after them immediately when they heard incident of raiding so that they fully protected their livestock from ubiquitous cattle robbers.

Twic East County Court in the village/Town of Panyagor in South Sudan

I spoke to both Panyagor Magistrate Court Clerks, Mr. Garang Deng, and Mr. Ajang Nyuop Bol if they have had a record of Aluel Chol v. Diing Garang’s statutory civil case. We all checked in the dockets, but we find no redacted records. Probably, this statutory civil case did not make it to County court since it is not to be found.

I also found a statutory civil case of divorce. And I thought I should record it for you so that International Community can see how verdict was reached. This statutory civil case of divorce was between Mr. Malou Gak Bul, and Mrs. Awut Biar Ajak, the daughter of Mr. Biar Ajak Yool. Mr. Malou Gak Bul was recorded in demand of 31 cows and 3200 Sudanese Pounds in return from Awut Biar Yool. Since he no longer wanted to keep her as a wife, He was asking the Family Court for civic divorce impending. He only filed a civic divorce to get his own bridewealth from father-in-law, Mr. Biar Ajak Yool,” said Twic East County Court clerk, Mr. Ajang Nyuop Bol from Kongor Payam district of Pan Ajang Aguer sections in South Sudan.

Judgement/Decision

Section 62/63, the Code of evidence Act 2006

Order

Twic East County’s Court Judge Francis Amum Awin ruled in favor of Mr. Malou Gak Bul to consciously divorce Mrs. Awut Biar Ajak in the Family Court of laws. And they had to get back the bridewealth he once offered in full according to tampering evidences, provided. And according to the Dinka Bor Ethnic groups’ customary laws, this bridewealth was scheduled to be reimbursed back to him on 20^th of April 2010.