The Juba First Grade County Court on Wednesday started hearing a defamation case filed by the Minister of General Education and Instruction Awut Deng Achuil.
In October last year, the Supreme Court of South Sudan referred the case filed by Minister Awut against three youths representing the Luanjang Community of Tonj East County in Warrap State back to the Juba County Court.
In February 2021, a group of youths from the Luanjang Community represented by Marcelo Deng Magon, who was the interim youth chairperson at the time, wrote a letter to President Salva Kiir accusing Minister Awut of intentionally barring primary eight pupils from areas of Warrap State’s Tonj East County from sitting the 2021 Primary Leaving Examinations under the pretext of insecurity.
The general education minister then filed a lawsuit against Machiek Dongrin, Marcelo Deng Magon, the Interim Chairman of Luangjang Youth Union, and Tinjok Ruben Dhal, a medical student from Bahr el Ghazal University in February 2022 in a Juba court.
During the opening session of the hearing before First Grade County Court Judge Lual Cuei, the police investigator read out the statements of the first and the second accused and he presented the documents that the two accused circulated on social media regarding the subject matter of the accusation.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj after the session, Advocate Monyluak Alor Kuol who is representing Minister Awut Deng Acuil, said the session was cut short due to a power cut as the session was proceeding and the judge was left with no choice but to adjourn the hearing to 20 May.
“We were supposed to proceed to hear the third accused and then other proceedings of them being questioned by the defense lawyer and the prosecution could have continued if it was not just a matter of having the electric power going off. So, on that basis, we could not continue without electricity, and knowing that the hall is already very warm, the court decided to give us the session on 20 May to continue the proceeding,” he enlightened. “On 20 May, the investigator will read the remaining part of the case diary in the sense that he will continue to read the statement of the remaining accused and present relevant documents to the court and if he finishes, then he will also answer questions from both sides.”
Alor added: “The prosecution lawyers and defense lawyers will all have questions for him and the court will also question the police investigator before the court formally accuses the persons that have been presented.”
The advocate revealed that the accused are likely to face charges of defamation.
“For now, the only section that has been expressly stated in the investigation is defamation and that has to do with the reputation of the ministry in the way it carried out its routine or bureaucracy and the minister personally has also raised questions regarding tarnishing of her personality so these are the things we will be deliberating during the trail,” he said. “This case has been waiting for the investigator to read out the statement of the accused that was recorded and this stage should have started earlier but was delayed due to the absence of the initial investigator and the process of his replacement. This process of replacing the first investigator was just concluded by having the second investigator going over the case during the last few weeks and now he is ready to present the case diary before court.”