South Sudanese opposition rejects Pagan’s acquittal of corruption charges
By Ngor Arol Garang
March 23, 2012 (JUBA)- The main opposition party in South Sudan, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement for Democratic Change (SPLM-DC) on Thursday called for the cancellation of a court ruling acquitting the Secretary General of the ruling party of embezzlement charges.
The secretary of political affairs and spokesman of the SPLM-DC, Jerkuei Marek, told Sudan Tribune on Thursday that the ruling was “unfair” because all legal procedures not were not followed and that it “should be dropped” so that concerns arising from the verdict should not “validate fears” that the judicial system in South Sudan “lacks independence and vulnerability to political manipulations”.
Despite Chol’s allegation that he received orders to transfer public funds to the account, Lado Arimino Sekwat acquitted Amum on Wednesday.
Marek was critical of the court ruling against those news agencies which covered a press conference held by Chol. Two South Sudanese newspapers and Chol were ordered by the court to pay 100,000 SSP (US$37,000) in damages. Marek said that the media should not be penalised for faithfully reporting on what individuals say.
Marek accused the court of not following “all the correct procedures to establish the facts”.
Abraham Albino, a deputy editor of Almasir; one of the fined newspapers, said that the court ruling was “unjust” and that they appealing against it.
He added that he still has faith in the South Sudanese judicial system to “fairly examine cases to make fair judgement”.
Nhial Bol Aken, the editor in chief of the other charged newspaper; The Citizen, said they were appealing against the court’s ruling.
Bol’s lawyer, Kiir Chol, accused chief justice Chan Reec Madut of influencing the proceedings; ensuring Amum’s acquittal. Chol claims Madut “threatened and intimidated” the high court judge who oversaw the case.
Chol claims Madut appeared at the hearing on 9 March without prior warning, politicising the case and thus making the judge partial.
Attempts by Sudan Tribune to reach Madut failed.
(ST)