The families of the Pieri plane crash victims will wait another week to know their fate after a high court in Juba adjourned today’s hearing to next week.
The families have been in court for more than a year demanding compensation after their kin perished in a deadly plane crash at the Pieri Airstrip in Uror County of Jonglei state.
The aircraft registered HK-4274 belonging to South Supreme Airline crashed shortly after takeoff killing 10 people aboard including two crew members in March last year.
The Malakia High Court in Juba, expected to hear a witness from the Civil Aviation Authority representing the defense from the South Supreme Airline today, gave the defense a week to appear before the court, or else it will give a verdict in their absence.
Monyluak Alor Kuol, the plaintiff’s counsel said the court had summoned the defense to appear before the court but they failed to appear.
“Today was meant to hear the witnesses as well and they were duly or correctly summoned and they were given a summons. They received the summons and they signed against the summon, they knew very well that the last session was today but despite all that they absented themselves,” he stated.
Alor said they have requested the court to close the case and make a final decision next Friday since the defense team has been defiant to the court’s summons.
“Our request was for the court to close the case of the defense and make a final decision because we have nothing else to say to the court, we are just waiting for the decision,” Alor said. “But then the judge looked into our application and they said for the interest of justice we are giving them yet another chance that is why the next session will be on the 4th of November for them to come with their last witness.”
He added, ‘The heirs of the victims have been denied justice for so long but we hope we are just approaching the end of the process.”
John Kiel Mayuol, the representative of the victims’ families complained that they have been patient but the process has been prolonged by the defense team.
“We have nearly finished two years in this case and we are still waiting. There is no information from Supreme airlines. As a family, we have waited for a long time, two years in court and they keep on postponing, at times they don’t attend the court sessions, and sometimes they don’t come for us to hear from them yet they are based in Juba,” Kiel said.