Special court to try crimes committed by organized forces opens

By Jenifer James

The Ministry of Interior has inaugurated a Special Emergency Court for the regular forces in Juba.

The court was reportedly established in 2015 by a special order from the Chief Justice with a request from the Ministry of Interior, but since then it had not been operationalized due to unknown reasons.

Addressing the media on Friday after the inauguration of the court, the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Lt. Gen Thomas Jal Thomas, urged the judges of the court to handle cases in a transparent manner.

“The court will handle the cases in a transparent manner, so we will not impose any other laws from outside the country, but we will use the laws of South Sudan,” said Jal.

Jal believes that most of the crimes in the country are currently being committed by men in uniform, adding that the court will reduce the criminal activities.

“Most of the crimes are either committed by somebody in uniform or are part of the crime, and we have to admit this because if we don’t point at things in the right way, things will not go. Most of the crimes in the country, particularly Juba are being committed by us (men in uniform),” he disclosed.

Jal said that the court will not only focus on the cases of Juba but the entire country, adding that judges and those responsible for the court should  do their work with impartiality.

He called on the leadership of the court to speed up cases to avoid delayed justice and case backlog.

“Justice delayed is justice denied, so let us not delay with the justice and the court process.”

For his part, Maj. Gen Charles Busak, the Commissioner General of Police for Central Equatorial State, said the purpose of this court is to serve the people without fear or favor.

However, the Director of Public Relations for Internal Security Bureau of the National Security Service, David John Kumuri welcomed the establishment of the court to address crimes, adding that the court in the previous years has done a commendable job.

The court panel led by Maj. Gen Siddiq Ismail comprises high-ranking officers from various branches of the security organs. They include Brig. Gen Thomas Tut, Colonel Andrew Ayodi Waleed Idris and Major Emmanuel Benjamin.