The mayor of Bor Municipal Council in Jonglei State, James Gai Makoor, on Monday, swore in seven officials to the town’s Bench Court to handle minor cases.
Mayor Gai told Radio Tamazuj Monday that the new court officials will help the municipality in reducing the backlog of cases.
“They will handle cases mostly concerning the town like minor crimes, community conflicts, and chamber of commerce cases,” he said. “These 7 include 2 females and they are drawn from the local government and traditional courts and the appointment was done by me as per the Local Government Act but their jurisdiction and supervision are by the judiciary.”
“We also installed five ‘A’ courts in the residential quarters of Marol, Pakuou, Tibek, Langbar, and Malou and they comprise five members each to handle cases there,” he added.
Mayor Gai called on the residents of Bor not to take the law into their hands as judicial services have now been brought closer to them.
One of the chiefs who was sworn to the Bench Court, Abraham Akol, said they will serve without prejudice.
“We are thankful for the appointment and I want to assure all residents of Bor, Dinka, Anyuak, Nuer, or an Equatorian, that you will be served without prejudice,” he said.
For his part, Major General Elia Costa Faustino, the state police commissioner, said they will cooperate with the court officials to address the rising gang violence in parts of the town.