A high court in Aweil (Northern Bahr el Ghazal) has sentenced Jacob Kuol Buong, aged 28, for the murder of a 17-year old girl.
In a closed door court hearing held in Aweil Central Prison Service premises, the suspect was found guilty of killing the teenager for allegedly refusing to marry him.
The presiding judge, Justice Abraham Majut, before pronouncing the verdict, highlighted the police investigations and the previous court proceeding to examine the evidence presented earlier to the court at a closed-door session.
He explained how the court decides to convict the suspect for murdering a young girl at the Hai Salam area in Aweil town on 6, July this year.
Mr. Jacob Kuol Buong, an active SSPDF soldier from Tiger Division in Juba, allegedly traveled to Aweil with an intension to harm the deceased, Adut Deng Tong.
“He shot and killed the deceased for allegedly refusing to marry him just two days after he arrived in Aweil from Juba,” said the judge. Two other girls were wounded during the incident.
The judge told Mr. Jacob who was in handcaffs and chain around his legs that he had the right to appeal against court decision within 15 days.
The defend lawyer Garang Akok Mading welcomed the court decision to sentense the accused to death.
“Finally, today, this young man will face justice for what he did in July”, said Garang Akok.
He added that this was meant to be as per the 2008 South Sudan Constitution in article 206 that says, “Any person who kills another one the way this man did should be sentenced to death.”
The head of also legal administration in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, Deng Majak Deng, praised the court for being fair.
“I think the way this court was done was good because it can make other young people understand that it is not good to kill but to follow any legal procedures instead of killing a small girl because of 200,000 SSP, so I agree with the death sentence”, said Deng Majak.
However, Jacob Kuol’s defend lawyer, William Kuol Maduok, disagreed with the court decision accusing it for ignoring other important underlying factors that forced his client to act.
“Yes, the court decree was issued on 14 September 2020, but we party of the defend of Jacob Kuol Buong have fifteen days to appeal the decision, and we will go to Wau, Bahr El Ghazal Court of Appeals to open the case against the decision made by the high court in Aweil.” Said, William Kuol Maduok.
Jacob claimed that there were some issues raised by the young man that forced him to act which will be presented to the Court of Appeal in Wau.
