An Ethiopian court has ordered a South Sudanese government official whose vehicle struck and killed a girl to pay a fine of 760,000 Ethiopian birr, a local official said.
The defendant, who is the governor of Maiwut State, was in Ethiopia’s Gambella region where he attended a memorial service last month.
Baruach Uluch Akolaton, Minister of Information in Maiwut State, told Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday that Governor Bol Ruach Rom has been fined 760,000 Ethiopian birr ($26,000) in connection with an incident in which a young girl was crushed to death by a car he was travelling in.
The state minister noted that the governor was ordered by the court to pay blood money to the victim's family last Friday.
“There is a team from Maiwut that is following up on the case in Gambella, and our liaison officer is also there. But we have not yet paid the fine because we are still waiting for the official letter from the court,” he said.
The state minister explained that the vehicle that knocked down the Ethiopian girl belongs to South Sudan’s embassy in Ethiopia.
“The car does not belong to the governor but he was in the car when the accident occurred. The governor was on a mission to attend a memorial service in Gambella,” he explained.
“The state minister of rural development Mun Yiech Kolong died and his family is living in Gambella region, so the governor was there to console the family. The state government will pay the fine imposed because the governor was in Gambella for an official trip,” he said.