Unity State Government on Tuesday launched a mobile court in Bentiu.
It is the first mobile court established by the government since the beginning of conflict in 2013. Several similar courts have been established by the UNMISS Department of Rule of Law between 2018 and 2024.
State Governor Riek Bim said that the administration of justice was poor in the state, with several prisoners awaiting prosecution for long.
The Governor said he appreciated UNMISS, especially the Department of Rule of Law, for saving the lives of people who had been arrested from different areas.
“The court should be here with us always because there are people who steal cattle and kill others for no reason. We need to refrain from those criminal acts,” Bim said.
The mobile court will run for 21 days in Bentiu to address the murder and rape cases in the town.
The Acting Speaker of Unity State Parliament, Jal Puok, said the mobile court was good because the local residents had reported their cases to the judges who were going to start their work immediately.
“My message is to the people around to come and report their cases to teams of judges of the mobile court,” he said.
State Gender and Child Social Welfare Minister Rose Nyaboth said the judges would investigate and prosecute the many rape cases in the area.
She appealed to Bim to keep the spirit of justice and law enforcement.
Maj Gen Gatkuoth Duop Kuich said the Unity State Police Commissioner had confirmed that the there were several cases reported at the Bentiu IDP camp.
Kuich advised the local resident to refrain from crime or supporting the criminal gangs.
The Prisons Director General, Maj Gen Alfred Eliguh Mauyiel, said that they would receive those who would be sentenced to prison by the mobile court in the next few days.
“Our work is to receive those who will be fined and sentenced to prison. We will receive and protect them,” he said.