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STORY: SOUTH SUDAN / MOBILE COURT
TRT: 05:49
SOURCE: UNMISS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
DATELINE: 24 FEBRUARY 2025, RENK, SOUTH SUDAN
1. Various shots, exterior of prisons, courtyard and people entering and sitting in court room, listening to proceedings.
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mother of a rape victim:
“In my opinion, if the accused man can’t accept the impact of what he did, he must go to prison. This is my belief, because I don’t know what consequences might be experienced by my child in the long-term. Even if he apologizes for his crime, something bad may happen to my child and I cannot afford the burden and responsibility for this. So, I say let him face the sentence he is given for his crime.”
3. Various shots, unidentifiable shots of a man accused of murder during his hearing and sentencing.
4. Close up, a witness’ hand on the Bible while taking the oath.
5. Wide shot, a witness testifying before the court
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Roufeita Zubeir Mohamed Nur, Prosecutor:
“Since 2021, the Renk County Court has faced a lot of challenges due to lack of a High Court Judge. The pending cases had risen to more than 60, including murder, rape and drug abuse. The prisons were very congested, so we are pleased the UNMISS-supported mobile court is here because it reduces the burden that had been placed on us.”
7. Med shot, lawyers seated and listening to court proceedings.
8. Med shot, a witness testifying before the court.
9. Med shot, a judge taking notes
10. Various shots, cases involving three alleged perpetrators.
11. Med shot, a judge reading out the verdict against the three accused who were acquitted.
12. Med shot, a female judge checking papers.
13. Wide shot, a witness testifying before the judge.
14. Med shot, a defense lawyer speaking to a witness.
15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Chol Chuil Amian, South Sudanese defense lawyer:
“I’m confident that all the court hearings for my clients went the right way according to the law. My colleagues, the judges, concentrated on the cases according to each legal article relating to the crimes the accused were alleged to have committed. While some received prison sentences, others were acquitted.”
16. Wide shot, relatives of alleged offenders waiting outside the court room.
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Anees Ahmed, UNMISS Chief of the Rule of Law and Security Institutions Section:
“This mobile court in Renk was very successful. It brought together all the civilian, military, police and indeed local authorities. They watched it, they ensured that their presence gave confidence to the people, that the entire government indeed all parts of government and political parties were behind this justice effort. All in all, it was a successful mobile court, and such efforts will continue in different parts of the country, as and when they are required.”
18. Wide shot, people waiting
In Renk, a town in the far north of South Sudan, a new mobile court has brought justice to a place where it has been absent for far too long. In the past three weeks, the court, supported by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), national and state judiciary, and international partners, has heard around 54 cases, some involving inmates who have been detained in prison without trial since 2021.
Two High Court judges, deployed from the Wau and Juba, have convicted 42 offenders while 20 individuals were acquitted or had their cases dismissed. Thirteen convictions related to sexual and gender-based violence, with 10 involving child rape, including one three-year-old victim.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mother of a rape victim:
“In my opinion, if the accused man can’t accept the impact of what he did, he must go to prison. This is my belief, because I don’t know what consequences might be experienced by my child in the long-term. Even if he apologizes for his crime, something bad may happen to my child and I cannot afford the burden and responsibility for this. So, I say let him face the sentence he is given for his crime.”
Decades of conflict in South Sudan have devastated infrastructure and displaced populations, forcing communities to mostly rely on traditional courts. However, mobile courts are now providing a temporary extension of the formal judicial system, delivering justice directly to underserved communities, and reinforcing the rule of law where it is most needed.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Roufeita Zubeir Mohamed Nur, Prosecutor:
“Since 2021, the Renk County Court has faced a lot of challenges due to lack of a High Court Judge. The pending cases had risen to more than 60, including murder, rape and drug abuse. The prisons were very congested, so we are pleased the UNMISS-supported mobile court is here because it reduces the burden placed on us due to the delay of many cases that have waited too long to be heard and for justice to be delivered.”
Similar mobile courts, deployed in Unity, Western Bahr El Ghazal, and Warrap, are also helping to change attitudes towards sexual violence and children's rights and instill hope in communities that fair trials are possible, and perpetrators will be held accountable. To support the process, the victims, witnesses and accused are provided with psycho-social support as well as free legal representation.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Chol Chuil Amian, South Sudanese defense lawyer:
“I’m confident that all the court hearings for my clients went the right way according to the law. My colleagues, the judges, concentrated on the cases according to each legal article relating to the crimes the accused were alleged to have committed. While some received prison sentences, others were acquitted.”
The mobile courts help build credibility and trust in the rule of law, demonstrated by the fact that new cases are being registered by people in the wake of the hearings because they have more confidence that justice will be served.
SOUNDBITE (English) Anees Ahmed, UNMISS Chief of the Rule of Law and Security Institutions Section: “This mobile court in Renk was very successful. It brought together all the civilian, military, police and indeed local authorities. They watched it, they ensured that their presence gave confidence to the people, that the entire government indeed all parts of government and political parties were behind this justice effort. All in all, it was a successful mobile court, and such efforts will continue in different parts of the country, as and when they are required.”
UNMISS is also providing technical support, training and new infrastructure to help transform all South Sudan’s justice chain in the longer term, including strengthening community policing, building the capacity of judicial, corrections and prison officers, as well as constructing police posts and courthouses.
