South Sudan pledges to empower traditional justice system

By Ngor Arol Garang

December 22, 2010 (ABYEI) – With most southern Sudanese expected to vote for independence in a referendum on January 9 next year, authorities from the southern state of Warrap have pledged to empower the traditional justice system.

Nyandeng Malek, the governor of Warrap State while opening traditional council conference hall in Kuajok, capital of Warrap, pledged to empower traditional justice system by working closely with local chiefs in the area.

“As governor of the state, I’m much aware of the important role played by traditional leaders. Traditional authorities are very important in managing local disputes and misunderstandings arising from cattle related conflict or social matters,” said Malek, the only elected SPLM woman official to hold such a high profile executive position.

“We are determined to work with you, especially in recognizing your roles in protecting human rights,” she told audience predominantly of chiefs, pledging to work closely with the over 800 chiefs spread across Warrap to promote peace and stability before and after the referendum.

The government assured local chief of her commitment to working together with the chief and other local authorities in initiating conflict management mechanisms.

“I assure you of my commitment as the state government to working together before and after referendum in order to build trust and confidence in the application of local justice system,” said governor Nyadeng in speech obtained by Sudan Tribune.

Makuc Makuc Ngongdit, SPLM Secretary General in the state government and who holds additional assignment as political affairs advisor to the governor, in a separate interview with Sudan Tribune commended State governor for recognizing role played by the traditional Chiefs in administering local justice and in initiating conflict management mechanisms.

“We are much aware of the important role played by chiefs. They are the custodian of local norms and cultural heritage. Their presence among the local community plays an important role when it comes to knowing and judging individual cases based on understanding of daily happenings within their communities. They are, therefore, serving as bridge between government and local community,” said Makuc.

He said chiefs need to be close to the government so that they assist in offering advice on issues connected to the traditional matters and service delivery.

Yel Mayar, deputy governor of Warrap also told Sudan Tribune that they realized that chiefs are hardly found in urban towns because of housing facilities and when there is an urgent message it takes three to four days to get a response because they are often in areas hardly accessed by road.

The official explained that traditional council hall would serve as a location where chiefs can meet to discuss pressing issues and share ideas about the dispensation of local justice.

In 2010, Warrap, being one of the 10 southern states, is among the worst affected by inter-communal violence, often with Lakes State in areas of Tonj counties. It also experiences the same with the neighboring counties of Panjar and Mayom in Unity State.

In one incident occurring in January, 140 people were killed in a cattle raid where thousands of domestic animals were stolen. Such raids, and deadly disputes between different communities and individuals, create a huge demand for mechanisms to deliver compensation, corrective justice and forums for the negotiated return of stolen property.

Chiefs – in effect the most local of government administrators – were given such duties by Sudan’s colonial powers, working at the lower end of a judicial hierarchy that combined elements of both customary and statutory law.

However, during the decades of civil conflict that followed Sudan’s independence in 1956, and which continued until 2005, the more formal legal system collapsed almost entirely in the South, and the ability of chiefs to dispense justice and resolve disputes was severely compromised amid the fog of war.

Since coming into power in the south, after the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, has been trying, particularly through the 2009 Local Government Act, to revive and strengthen a legal system in which chiefs and their courts play a crucial part.

Jok Madut Jok, a professor of history at an American university who comes from Warrap state, echoed this view.

“Chiefs are important as custodians of tradition,” says Jok, who is now serving as an under-secretary in the Southern government’s Ministry of Culture.

“They have an understanding of leadership that is based on their closeness to the people. The government regards them as a bridge between rural people and the central government.”

“As a chief, you have to understand the things that lead to disagreement, that potentially result in crimes,” Executive Chief Goon Madol Goon from Gogrial West County, said, citing issues within families over dowry and adultery as frequent cases he adjudicates in his local customary court.

Del Rumdeng, part of the South government’s Local Government Board, said chiefs had a duty to “prevent and resolve tribal conflicts by applying peaceful customary law and traditional conflict resolution mechanisms and mediation.

(ST)