Lakes State parliament reinstates MP after convictions overturned
October 17, 2012 (RUMBEK) – Lakes State’s parliament on Monday voted to reinstate Zechariah Puoric Matuong MP after a long court battle in which he was accused of adultery and child kidnapping in January.
In mid-January, Lakes State parliament received a complaint from family of a woman who married Puoric illegally after her original husband died during the civil war. Puoric marriage woman despite her not being officially divorced from her late husband.
In January 2012, Puoric was voted out of the state parliament to pursue his personal case in Rumbek County Court where he was convicted and asked to pay seven cows for adultery case.
He was also convicted of abducting a child from Uganda but Matuong has always denied this explaining that the child was his son who was coming from Kampala to visit him and relatives.
Puoric immediately appealed against the decision of Rumbek County Court through the Lakes State High Court of Appeal, which found him not guilty of both charges.
After the High Court officially notified Lakes State’s parliament Puoric was reinstated to his seat after spending ten months without his parliament salary.
Speaking to the press on Monday Puoric said that he was “not reinstated – it is a resumption of my work – according to me and according to those who say so I am not guilty for all charges that were leveled against me”.
The charges were politically motivated and “manufactured to devastate my integrity”, he said.
“I did not kidnap my son. He is my biological son, there is nothing like that in this world that a person could kidnap his own son”, said Puoric.
“In regard to adultery case, it is not adultery. It was an official marriage to a woman”.
Lakes state parliament in it Resolution Number 2, of October 1, had agreed to reinstated MP Puoric and all of his ten months salary starting from January to October will be paid back to him
Zechariah Puoric Matuong represents Malek constituency number 5 in Rumbek Central County.
(ST)