A mobile court operating in the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) has heard and dispensed 36 cases since it commenced work in Pibor Town on 10 March 2024.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj over the weekend, Sebit Bullen Lako, a High Court judge and head of the mobile court, said the majority of those convicted were on criminal offenses. He stated that they were racing against time to finalize on a dozen cases before their deadline of 8 April.
“We have passed verdicts on 19 criminal cases: murder cases were 7 under Section 206 of Penal Code Act, 3 robbery cases, 1 rape case, and the rest were cases on theft,” he explained. “17 finalized cases were civil, and they were being handled by my colleague Alfred Lado, a first-grade judge. Almost all these 17 civil cases are on land grabbing following a demarcation exercise in Pibor Town in 2019.”
“When we arrived, we got 29 cases registered with the prosecution attorney’s office, and now we are left with just a few days to finalize on remaining 10 criminal cases before the deadline,” Judge Bullen added.
He said that until 31 March, they registered 28 cases of land disputes and have heard and passed judgment on 17 of them.
“More complainants are coming with petitions, but we stopped taking more cases on 31 March because we are running out of time,” the judge stated.
Meanwhile, GPAA Local Government Minister Peter Ajany Kaimoi said the court’s mission was successful and appealed for their time to be extended.
“It is the first time since 2023 that we have a judiciary in GPAA. However, one month is not enough to clear the backlog of 429 cases in the entire GPAA,” he explained. “So, we appealed to the judiciary, UNMISS, and UNDP to consider extending the time of these judges so that they handle more cases.”
On his part, Nyinginga Okano Kiro, the GPAA information minister, also appealed for an extension, saying the local government leadership is engaging the judiciary and partners to allow the mobile court to remain operational for one more month. He said the mobile court exiting before clearing the case backlog would set a bad precedent as plaintiffs will feel they have been denied justice.
Established on 10 March in Pibor Town, the mobile court is comprised of 2 judges, 2 prosecutors, 4 advocates, and 3 support staff. According to GPAA officials, there were 429 cases pending court hearings before the arrival of the mobile court.
Since its inception in 2014, GPAA has had no functioning judicial system.