A high court in South Sudan’s Lakes State on Monday released 187 inmates jailed for minor offences from Rumbek Central Prison in Rumbek Centre County.
The release of the prisoners comes as the state government plans to address overcrowding at Rumbek Central Prison.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday, High Court Judge Noah Gabriel Kau told Radio Tamazuj on Monday that he pardoned the inmates convicted of minor offences such as theft and adultery.
“I requested the director of Rumbek Central Prison to give me a list of those who have been detained by local chiefs and special courts. So I found that many special courts have been formed by the executive authorities here,” he said.
He pointed out the number of females was about 30 and that most of them were those who had been convicted of minor cases such as adultery.
“So, I released those 30 women, and also there are some girls who were impregnated and jailed by the local chiefs while they are juveniles which is a wrong implementation of the law because chiefs don’t have powers to work on juvenile cases,” he explained.
For his part, the minister of parliamentary affairs in Lakes State, John Thon, confirmed the release of the inmates by the high court.
According to the state minister, the move is part of an initiative to screen minor cases in Rumbek Central Prison.
Meanwhile, the paramount chief of Pacong Payam and head of a special court in Rumbek East County, Sultan Awet Majak, said: “Yes, we had jailed some people for having committed adultery and those who have raided cattle. We send them to jail when they fail to pay fines.”