A delegation of the Rizeigat tribe from Sudan’s Eastern Darfur State and the Sudanese community in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State reiterated their condemnation of the defilement and murder of a girl in Aweil and called for the death sentence to be applied if the suspects are found guilty.

On 3 May, a Sudanese trader, Saber Abdalla Abusam, defiled, murdered, and disposed of the body of a 6-year-old girl in a pit latrine in Aweil town. The prime suspect and two of his colleagues who tried to conceal the crime are being detained at Aweil town police station.

The Rizeigat delegation chairperson, Mirgani Mahmud, said his team was dispatched by their paramount chief to convey the message of condemnation and to call for justice to prevail.

"Regarding this case, we recommend that the relations between the Rizeigat and Dinka Malual remain cordial and be maintained. The crime was committed by an individual and he must be judged accordingly,” he said. “The incident is unfortunate and painful and the person who does such can be considered a wolf and not human.”

Mahmud said that the accused does not hail from the Rizeigat but that they had to come to commiserate and strengthen the peace and trade ties with the Dinka Malual.

The current leader of the Sudanese community in Aweil, Jidu Mohammed Abdalla, also condemned the incident and demanded thorough investigations and recommended the death sentence for those found guilty.

“It was not one crime that happened in Aweil, they were three crimes; rape, killing, and burying a body in an unsuitable location,” he said. “As the Sudanese community in Aweil, we request the security agencies to carry out thorough investigations and that the judiciary sentence the perpetrators to hang. If the laws of South Sudan do not prescribe the death sentence, we request God and the judiciary to use Sudanese law which says you can sentence the murderer of a child to death.”

For his part, William Anyuon Kuol, the state information minister, welcomed the Rizeigat delegation and accepted their condolences.

“We are very glad today (Tuesday) to receive the team that came from Sudan’s Eastern Darfur State with a letter of condemnation,” Minister Kuol said. “The additional thing they said was that the legal processes should be done and if this person (rapist) is found guilty, he has to face the law.”