Mobile court visits Bentiu for second round of hearings

unmiss south sudan bentiu protection of civilians rule of law mobile court january 2019 second visit

UNMISS peacekeepers escorting a suspect to the mobile court currently at work in Bentiu.

24 Jan 2019

Mobile court visits Bentiu for second round of hearings

Olivier Ndikumana

A mobile court is currently visiting Bentiu for ten days in an attempt to deal with part of a significant backlog of criminal cases in the northern town, which for some time has lacked a permanent judge of its own.

The alleged criminal activities to be judged have taken place both within and outside of United Nations Mission in South Sudan’s protection site for displaced people. Among the cases to be heard are homicides, rapes and armed robberies.

“I am very happy that this court is bringing justice to both the protection site and to Bentiu town. This is good for us because whenever something happens, like a rape case, the community leadership arrests and take the suspects to the holding facilities, but there is never any legal follow up. Now those who are guilty will face justice and the innocent ones can be released, said Majiek Chatiem, one of the thousands of people seeking shelter at the peacekeeping mission’s designated site.

A previous mobile court visited the Bentiu protection site in December, hearing a large number of cases and transferring suspects found guilty from temporary holding facilities to the town’s official prison.