The Customary Law Bill 2024, which was passed by the Western Bahr el Ghazal State Transitional Legislative Assembly on 20 February, has now become active after the governor did not assent to it 30 days after receiving it.
Joseph Mawut Athain, the state parliament’s chairperson of the standing specialized committee on information, culture, youth, and sports who doubles as the assembly’s spokesperson, told Radio Tamazuj Thursday that the Customary Law of Western Bahr el Ghazal State became law after undergoing extensive appraisal in the governor’s office.
“Today (Thursday) we want to announce to the people of Western Bahr el Ghazal that the state’s Customary Law has which was passed by parliament 20 February 2025 and was sent to the Office of the Governor along with its certificate on the same day has become law,” he declared, and explained: “If any bill is passed by the assembly and sent to the governor’s office and the governor does not sign it for 30 days, according to the law, it means the bill has become a law on 17 April 2025.”
Mawut urged the public to accept and abide by the Customary Law in good faith, emphasizing that all views reflected in the laws were gathered from the community.
“This law is a very important document to the people of Western Bahr el Ghazal because it introduces fines for various crimes and sets forth rights based on clauses agreed upon by the community representatives from the three counties of Wau, Raja, and Jur-River,” he stated.
The legislator stressed that the customary law will aid courts in addressing crimes such as murder, rape, theft, adultery, among other offenses.
“Understanding this law will help reduce crime, and we are going to distribute it to other states so that they can use it in addressing issues involving citizens of Western Bahr el Ghazal,” he said.
This new Customary Law replaces the previously used Wan-Alel Law which was used by traditional courts and it will help government courts and law enforcement agencies to ensure they align with the constitution while persevering the cultural heritage of the region, Mawut said.