Woman sentenced to 9 months in prison for committing adultery

June 13, 2013 (RUMBEK) – A traditional court in Lakes state’s Wulu county has sentenced a woman to nine months in prison for having committed adultery with a South Sudanese army (SPLA) soldier belonging to division six.

The woman is the wife of high profile MP Moses Ater Manyiel, who represents the Wulu and Barhgel constituency in Lakes state’s legislative assembly.

Adultery is illegal under South Sudan’s constitution and the case has caught some Wulu residents by surprise.

The court, headed by Mataba Yoro, handed down its sentence on Tuesday, with the woman, Nyankul Mau Chol, also ordered to pay seven cows and a fine of 7 million South Sudanese pounds as restitution.

Nyankul will be eligible for bail subject to her husband’s approval.

The SPLA soldier, was also sentenced to nine months in prison without the possibility of bail and ordered to pay a fine in the same amount.

According to Ater, he learnt of the relationship between his wife and the man after intercepting a letter written to his wife.

Ater has welcomed the court’s decision, saying he intended to bail out his wife within the next week and settle any outstanding issues with his in-laws in the traditional way.

Ater’s decision to pursue the case in court has been criticised by some residents, who considered it a private matter.

However, Ater claims that his wife fell pregnant to the soldier and that he took the decision to prevent the illicit relationship from continuing.

(ST)