At least 23 inmates charged with minor crimes were released from Wau Central Prison in South Sudan’s Western Bahr el Ghazal State on Thursday.
The decision was taken by the state governor Sarah Cleto as a Christmas gift to the inmates’ families.
Speaking during the release at Wau Central Prison, Governor Sarah Cleto urged the released prisoners to show good faith to their people outside instead of repeating the same crime.
“The message you have to carry to the people is that tell young people and elders that stealing is not good. You have now tried and you stayed in jail for some time,” Sarah said.
Some of the freed inmates who spoke during their release thanked the state governor for sponsoring the payment of their fines.
Charles Nbrende, one of the freed inmates, said they were not expecting that they will reunite with their families again.
“I thank the governor because when we were all in jail, we were not expecting that we will see our families again outside. But God has accepted that we have to see our families again,” he said.
For his part, the State Director for Prison Service, Atok Atem Barac said the release of 23 inmates has given space to the remaining prisoners since the jail was overcrowded.
“The prison only could accommodate 200 inmates, but after the release of 23 inmates, it would provide some space for the rest,” Barac said.