The South Sudan Bar Association announced its intention to file a lawsuit against the Ministry of the Interior and the Traffic Police Department for illegal practices targeting private vehicle owners and imposing traffic fines in US dollars.
Stephen Martin Nyichar, Secretary General of the South Sudan Bar Association, told Radio Tamazuj during an exclusive interview on Wednesday that they contacted Caretaker Interior Minister Lt. Gen. Rizik Zachariah Hassan and demanded that the illegal practices by the traffic police stop, but that the ministry had not responded.
He said the Association also informed the Ministry of Justice about the actions of the traffic police department, explaining that the fines imposed by the traffic police were not approved by the Interior Ministry, but rather, a unilateral decision by the traffic department.
“The Bar Association stands by its decision to proceed with legal action against the Ministry of Interior,” Nyichar stressed. “The receipts issued by the General Directorate of Traffic are not approved by the Ministry of Finance or the Revenue Authority, which are the only two entities legally authorized to collect public funds.”
“Requiring citizens to pay fines in US dollars violates the directives of the Bank of South Sudan, which stipulate that the national currency must be used instead of foreign currencies,” he added.
The Secretary-General revealed that the Bar Association had given the Ministry of Interior a seven-day deadline to reverse the decisions.
He stated that the official announcement of the commencement of the lawsuit against the Ministry of Interior will be made at a press conference in the coming days.
Regarding the traffic police’s decision to require owners of commercial vehicles to replace their license plates at USD 400, Nyichar said that no agreement had been reached with the traffic department, making recourse to the judiciary inevitable. He added that the traffic department is still issuing license plates to business owners.
Efforts to get comment from the police spokesperson on the matter were unsuccessful.
The South Sudanese traffic police’s imposition of traffic fines payable in US dollars comes at a time when the country is witnessing an economic downturn, with the population experiencing financial hardships, and beggars increasing by the day on Juba’s streets.
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