By Hou Akot Hou
A court in Gogrial East County, Warrap State, has sentenced a woman to 3 years in prison for brewing a prohibited local alcoholic drink known as “Dakaya”.
The woman identified as Awien Manut was dealing in an illicit brew locally known as “Dakaya,” which is made from the main ingredients of yeast and sugar.
In 2019, the state government banned the making of local alcohol in Gogrial East County.
The ban, according to local authorities, was made in a bid to reduce the rate of crimes resulting from the consumption of such local alcoholic drinks, which has been blamed for making the youths cause mayhem.
Colonel Madut Anei, the Gogrial East County police inspector, told journalists on Thursday that the pronouncement of the sentence was made after suspect Ms. Awien had defied several warnings issued to her.
He said the woman embarked on brewing the banned illicit local alcohol, arguing she has no other means to earn a living for her family of seven except through the prohibited business.
“The suspect, Awien Manut, was found still making the “Dakaya” drink and was arraigned in court. The court pronounced her guilty as she has been warned many times, which she did not heed,” Madut stated.
“So, she got 3 years in prison and 150,000 SSP as fines,” he added.
The county police inspector said the ban came about because it was found out that many youths abuse the cheap local drinks, prompting them to cause problems that the state is battling to address.
Warrap State is among other states that are engulfed in insecurities such as cattle rustling and inter-communal violence that have been raging despite disarmaments that have been done but yielded little result.