Members of parliament in South Sudan’s Yei River State assembly are lobbying to summon the state ministers of gender, law enforcement and local government as well as the police commissioner to answer concerns of increased rape cases.
According to the state women MPs, there were 27 cases of rape cases recorded in late 2017 and three other cases between March and April 2018 allegedly perpetrated by men in military uniform.
Joy Kwaje, Lainya County MP addressing the assembly accused law enforcement agencies of failing to act against perpetrators saying women suffer abuses without justice.
“We want to hear that the perpetrators of such crimes are arrested and taken to books of law. We have heard many cases of women being raped in the community but nothing was done to the perpetrators. As women of Yei, we are very sad and we want the rapists to face justice,” she said.
Earlier this year, women and human rights activists in Yei River State called on state authorities to improve the judicial system and apprehend human rights violators.
Since the outbreak of the conflict in July 2016, Yei River State has witnessed widespread human rights violations including rape, killings, looting and displacement of civilians by armed men.