South Sudan police pledge support to judicial system Article Comments (1) Email PrintSave --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
August 14, 2011 (JUBA) - Police authorities of the newly established Republic of South Sudan on Sunday pledged full support to the judicial system at all levels to strengthen rule of law. The government made the pronouncement as part of the strategy aiming at addressing reports and complaints emanating from the general public that the capital Juba is experiencing an increase in crimes perpetuated by individuals wearing either police or military uniforms identifying them as members of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). Several members of the public have raised complaints of aggressive behavior and impunity for those with guns. This is attributed to the militarisation of the criminal justice system and allegations of individual soldiers taking the law into their own hands-and to the lack of independence in the judiciary. South Sudan’s justice system is in an embryonic stage of development and remains too weak to provide accountability for most human rights violations. The judiciary and prosecution staff lack basic training including communication with clients. The new interim constitution of the republic of South Sudan made English the official language of the new nation, putting pressure on the justice system to improve English skills, equipment, libraries, and other resources for those whose initial language of instruction at higher learning institutions was Arabic. There are also concerns that most of the judicial services remain concentrated only in specific urban towns. The State of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, one of the ten states of South Sudan, for example has only five judges covering an area inhabited by an estimated population of over 700,000 people. The last population census conducted during the interim period when Sudan was still a united country indicates 720,000 people inhabit northern Bahr el Ghazal State. The state government at the time contested the result and vowed never to recognise it. The state governor at the last governor’s forum held in Juba in November 2010 estimated South Sudan has a population of 13 million people. Speaking to Sudan Tribune on Sunday during a one to one interview, the Inspector General of South Sudan Police Service (SSPS), pledged commitment of the police forces to fully support judicial system of the government of south Sudan. “The police authorities have always been supportive of the legal system. Our support has never changed. We will always remain supportive in executing our roles as law enforcement agent to the judicial system”, said General Madut. “Police has never operated in an isolation of judicial system. There has always been spirit of cooperation as this is the way to strengthen rule of law. Decisions made by the courts and other judicial apparatus are always enforced by the police," explained the senior police officer. However, Deng mading Kuc, a private advocate in a separate interview with Sudan Tribune in Juba, said one obstacle to holding human rights violators accountable is the reluctance of police to investigate crimes involving soldiers or other security personnel. “I am in the market offering legal services and I have always found out that one of the obstacles to holding those committing crimes and human rights abuse accountable is the reluctance of police to investigate crimes involving some of their colleagues. In many cases, police plainly do not open and investigate cases against fellow colleague”, said Kuc. Kuc gave an example of rampant case of rape of women allegedly perpetuated by individual elements camouflaging uniforms of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army. “I have always offered legal advice on cases refused by the police to take victims’ statements and open an investigation. Most of the cases brought to my attention include cases indicating police preference referring victims to national security or to SPLA’s military police unit”, he said. He gave another example of a case he attended in Rumbek, Lakes State, in September 2008 when the police refused to open an investigation and instead referred victims to the SPLA. The private advocate said he made his own analysis and found out that one of the reasons which contribute to reluctance of the police to investigate human rights violations, including those committed by their own fellow colleagues in the police and other security organs, is fear of retaliation. “There are a lot of examples. One of the examples is the incident which occurred in Western Equatoria in November 2007, where a group of soldiers serving in the then Joint Integrated Units at Yambio, capital of the state, attacked local police, killing ten, including three senior police officers. The president made emotional statement that the culprits would be punished before the public but nothing has taken place until this moment”, he said. Authorities often cite the incident as illustrative of soldiers’ interference in the justice system and impunity. The incident which occurred in Yambio was triggered by the arrest of a soldier suspected to have killed another soldier. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
