By Yang Ater Yang
Rumbek Town Court B has sentenced three girls to one year each in prison for stealing 18 goats.
The court’s decision, delivered on Tuesday, also included a fine of 85,000 SSP for each girl, alongside the requirement to return six goats to their rightful owners.
The court has not revealed the identity of the girls.
Daniel Maliap Chawul, the chairperson of Rumbek Town Court B, explained that the girls were found guilty of repeatedly stealing goats from residential areas, slaughtering some for sale in local markets while keeping others for personal consumption.
“The three 3 girls used to steal goats daily in the residential areas”, he said. “The three girls slaughter goats for sale in the market while preserving other goats, meat for home consumption.”
The ruling mandates that the girls not only serve their prison sentence but also compensate the victims by returning the stolen goats.
“Each girl must return six (6) goats each as compensation for 18 goats which they have stolen,” he added.
Reacting to the ruling, Daniel Laat Kon, State Coordinator for the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), acknowledged the court’s decision, noting that the girls had been involved in stealing livestock that had gone missing in the area.
“According to the information we received, these three girls were found to have stolen goats that were reported missing from the area,” he said. “After being taken to court, the local bench court decided to sentence each of them to one year and three months in Rumbek main prison.”
He emphasized that the court followed due process and that the families of the girls have the option to appeal the decision in a higher court if they choose.
He also highlighted the implications of customary law and the Public Order Act of 2022, which imposes severe penalties for theft of livestock.
“You know, when you look at customary law and public order acts that have been passed in 2022. It’s condemned stealing to death and this is what the local bench court has used to sentence these girls to prison, like stealing cows, goats, beehives, or ropes used to tie cows. You know all these are being condemned by law customary law and public order act 2022 and this is what the local bench court has now used,” he said.