The Minister of Justice and Director of Public Prosecutions are set to inspect the 12 police stations in Juba and the Juba Central Prison, in a bid to curb the overcrowding of inmates.
Minister Ruben Madol Arol on Wednesday met representatives of the judiciary, the director general of the South Sudan Prison Service, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the police and public prosecutors from the 12 police divisions in Juba.
During the meeting, it was revealed that there are over 500 pending cases in the 12 police divisions, 300 of which have not yet been classified as criminal or civil cases.
Madol expressed his disappointment about the backlog of cases.
“It is really strange indeed when we say we want to know the number of criminal cases that are running and a certain number specific to certain crimes and some cases are not brought forward,” he said. “It is strange to hear that 300 cases cannot be determined to be either criminal or civil. The information about the 300 cases seems not to be in the open and it is important to ask ourselves if we want to serve the people of South Sudan. Do we really want to do our jobs honestly?”
In addition to the 500 cases pending in the police stations, the Juba Central Prison said they have over 1,500 inmates on remand whose cases are pending trial in courts.
The minister urged the prosecutors, police investigators, and the Judiciary to double their efforts in clearing the backlog of cases to decongest Juba Central Prison.
“Should overcrowding in the prison in Juba be a difficult situation that we cannot handle as the Ministry of Justice, the judiciary, police, and prison authority? I think it is just a case of people not wanting to do their duties diligently,” he charged. “I am ordering the director for public prosecutions to start visiting the police cells with effect from next week. We want to know what is happening and have our ideas about these challenges that are being reported.”
On his part, Sabri Wani Ladu, the Head of Legal Administration and Public Prosecution Attorney, said there is a shortage of Judges to handle cases among other challenges.
“There is a limited number of Judges and we also have the challenge of transporting inmates to the courts, that is why some of these cases are being adjourned,” he explained. “There is also the problem of complainants and witnesses commuting to Juba from the suburbs and sometimes they do not come to court, leading to adjournments. That is why the number of inmates increased.”
“In addition, Juba Central Prison is the only one in the capital Juba that accommodates all suspects from different Payams and Bomas of Central Equatoria,” Wani added.