By Charles K Mark
Warrap State governor, Kuol Muor Muor signed Conflict Resolution and Sustainable Development Act, 2024, known as the “Green Book Bill” into law.
Upon signing the act, Governor Muor warned citizens against violence, urging that the law-dabbled ‘Green Book” would not spare culprits who took the law into their own hands.
One wrongdoer who is said to have killed a woman in Gogrial West County, Warrap State, now faces the wrath of the new law.
Warrap Legislative Assembly speaker, Rt. Hon. Kueec Deng Mayar, said the state has been constrained by communal conflicts all over the state.
According to Mayar, insecurity has made service delivery impossible, especially in schools, hampering access to clean drinking water and health care centres.
The Green Book, according to the state authorities, is meant to improve, rescue, and protect the vulnerable populations of Warrap State.
The Warrap State Minister of Information, William Wol Mayom, highlighted some of the major crimes in the state.
“Delayed justice such as loss of lives and killing of innocent children and women, raping, burning of houses and shelters, and all types of human rights abuses were done by the armed criminals within the communities,” he noted.
The Governor of Warrap State assented to four chapters of the Green Book, of which Chapter 4 comprises 31 offences and their penalties.
For instance, one-chapter states that any person proven by the Special Mobile Court or any other competent court to have raided cattle or robbed other valuable assets on the highway or in the house using firearms shall be subjected to firing squad, and the recovered assets shall be returned to their rightful owners.
“Any person who is found by Special Court or any other competent Court to have killed another person, whether in direct attack, ambush, or cold blood, with the intention of revenge or hate, shall be fire-squad,” the minister quoted the act.
The law also stipulates a person proven by the Special Mobile Court or any other competent court to have raped a child to death commits an offence and, upon conviction, shall be sentenced to death by a firing squad.
The tough green book also alerted that law offenders in Warrap State or its borders shall be fined and jailed for three years.
The information minister further explained that any active army personnel (organized force) found to have taken part in communal violence shall be jailed for three years, according to the new law.
“Burning houses, food, or looting assets is fined with a 5-year’ term in jail and double compensation imposed on the convict,” Minister Mayom elaborated.
The Green Book also introduced forceful disarmament to any community launching fresh or revenge attacks against another community, section, or clan in Warrap State.
The controversial bill which gives state authorities an iron hand to deal with criminals has received mixed reactions.
Supporters of the law say, it will contribute to improved conflict resolution and sustainable development within the state.
However, critics raise concerns about potential human rights implications and the potential for abuse of power.