WESTERN BAHR-EL-GHAZAL – For a country’s judicial system to function properly, its various institutions need suitable infrastructure to perform their duties. The recent refurbishment of the Raja County Court, funded by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), was undertaken for exactly this reason.

“UNMISS is assisting South Sudan in strengthening the rule of law and addressing impunity both by renovating or replacing inadequate physical structures and by building institutional capacity. Everyone needs access to justice, not least women and children,” commented Sam Muhumure, Head of the peacekeeping mission’s Field Office in Wau.

Implemented by the Community Aid for Relief and Development Organization, the 50,000 USD refurbishment project covered included the court’s main hall, an office and residence for the judge, separate rooms for prosecutors and other staff, three cells, and other essential facilities.

“Now that it in is good conditions, this court must step up and ensure that justice is served in this part of our state,” said Zakaria Joseph Garang, Acting Governor of Western Bahr El Ghazal State, who also expressed his concerns about a recent surge of rape cases.

Considering that Raja is situated some 300 kilometres away from the court in the state capital Wau, survivors of sexual violence and other violent crimes are indeed likely to find it less challenging to have their grievances heard and addressed. However, one key piece of the justice puzzle is still missing.

“Now that the court is operational, it's time to appoint a permanent judge in the county, because we haven’t had one for eight years,” said County Commissioner Addison Arkangelo, who praised UNMISS for its assistance in periodically deploying a mobile court to deal with a backlog of pending cases.