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STORY: SOUTH SUDAN / MOBILE COURT
TRT: 03:24
SOURCE: UNMISS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 28 FEBRUARY 2025, RENK, MALAKAL SOUTH SUDAN
1. Various shots, court room, inmates, stakeholders and UNMISS Rule of law staff
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Rouha Ajoun Got, psycho-social worker:
“There are large numbers of accused people kept in prison for long time. Before they are arraigned in court, they face many sleepless nights. It is our role to talk to them, counsel them, and to say that, while you have waited a long time for this day and it has finally come, be ready for it as the judge will only give you limited time. We advise them to explain the events as they happened so that the judge can decide on their case and help them to receive fair judgement.”
3. Wide shot, family members of victims waiting for cases to be heard at the Renk mobile court
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Lieutenant Colonel, Paulo Simon Makuoch, Prison Officer:
“We welcome the mobile court and thank them because we have waited for so long and the inmates suffered a lot. We encountered very difficult conditions managing the inmates in prison who were facing a wide variety of criminal charges, ranging from serious incidents of murder and rape through to incidents of theft.”
5. Med shot, associate judges seated
6. Med shot, UNMISS Rule of Law staff and court official
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Natalie Mazur, UNMISS Rule of Law Officer:
“Moving forward, we are working with the judiciary and the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to look at the possibility of deploying a mobile court to Maban and potentially Malakal in the future. The judiciary is also looking to hopefully promote judges going forward or deploy another permanent High Court judge to Upper Nile State which will make this a more sustainable process.”
8. Med shot, high court judge taking notes
9. Wide shot, a woman testifying before the judge
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Anees Ahmed, UNMISS Chief of the Rule of Law and Security Institutions Section:
“We hope that the government will prepare an implementation mechanism to ensure that the recommendations of the Judicial Reform Committee are implemented in a graduated manner, subject of course to availability of funds and availability of personnel. This will lead to a comprehensive development and extension of the justice system in this country, which all political parties and all parts of society agree is the utmost necessity of this country.”
11. Wide shot, Renk court premises.
In Upper Nile, prisoners are suffering because of overcrowding, unhygienic living conditions, rampant disease and a lack of food. Alleged offenders are detained for years without the prospect of a trial due to a lack of judges and court facilities.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Rouha Ajoun Got, psycho-social worker:
“There are large numbers of accused people kept in prison for long time. Before they are arraigned in court, they face many sleepless nights. It is our role to talk to them, counsel them, and to say that, while you have waited a long time for this day and it has finally come, be ready for it as the judge will only give you limited time. We advise them to explain the events as they happened so that the judge can decide on their case and help them to receive fair judgement.”
In collaboration with the national judiciary, and supported by international partners, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan helped deploy a mobile court to Renk in northern Upper Nile to reduce the backlog of cases. From 29 January until 1 March 2025, the court delivered 54 verdicts resulting in 48 convictions and 23 acquittals. In addition, 42 detainees were released from prison.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Lieutenant Colonel, Paulo Simon Makuoch, Prison Officer:
“We welcome the mobile court and thank them because we have waited for so long and the inmates suffered a lot. We encountered very difficult conditions managing the inmates in prison who were facing a wide variety of criminal charges, ranging from serious incidents of murder and rape through to incidents of theft.”
Given the success of the court in delivering justice in places where it has been absent for far too long, freeing wrongly detained individuals, and easing prison congestion, UNMISS is exploring opportunities to deploy these hearings to other locations across the country.
SOUNDBITE (English) Natalie Mazur, UNMISS Rule of Law Officer:
“Moving forward, we are working with the judiciary and the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to look at the possibility of deploying a mobile court to Maban and potentially Malakal in the future. The judiciary is also looking to hopefully promote judges going forward or deploy another permanent High Court judge to Upper Nile State which will make this a more sustainable process.”
UNMISS is also providing technical support and assistance to the judiciary and South Sudan Government to build the capacity of the justice system more broadly, including supporting the development of a report by the Judicial Reform Committee which recommended increasing the number of judges and improving infrastructure.
SOUNDBITE (English) Anees Ahmed, UNMISS Chief of the Rule of Law and Security Institutions Section:
“We hope that the government will prepare an implementation mechanism to ensure that the recommendations of the Judicial Reform Committee are implemented in graduated manner, subject of course to availability of funds and availability of personnel. This will lead to a comprehensive development and extension of the justice system in this country, which all political parties and all parts of society agree is the utmost necessity of this country.”
The report was presented to the President of South Sudan in December 2024 and awaits further action.
