There is no better thief: The high court lack law ethics in the case of 16 officials
8 min readNeither small or big sinner nor better pardon and jailed persons, the law is a school admission process, it is above all
By David Matiop Gai, Juba, South Sudan
June 18, 2016, (SSB) – The trial of 16 officials to life in prison is a legal disability in South Sudan. I am not a friend to 16 jailed South Sudanese officials for life imprisonment nor am I a relative to them in form of depending their case but as a social policy Analysis practitioner, and how the law would have been supposed to applying it effectively, I would like to point out some mistakes and how South Sudan High Court Lack Law Ethics in the country. In South Sudan, big fishes are swallowing small fishes for their own survival or impurity of high ranking officials is well protected on the scale level of small officers and the embezzlements of very important persons is not the big issue while small officers money issues become the matter. In this case, who is not a South Sudanese? Who had not stolen public funds? Who is not born of a woman? And who is not important? There is no proper justification; why the high court in Juba left big criminals to move freely in the country without jailing them like 16 officials from the office of the President?
On Monday June 13, 2016, I was disturbed together with my colleagues when hearing life imprisoned of 16 officials from the office of the president and being sentenced to life in prison! For me it is unbecoming, I term it as learning exercise of law essences, not because I want people like 16 officials to continue looting country’s resources just like that, nor am I a lawlessness man who want to let the country run its affairs in meaninglessly, but the number of applied injustice against 16 officials giving me rights to disputed and arguing this trial seriously in all term possible.
First, I mean South Sudan High Court, (SSHC) is lacking law ethics. The law ethics has to do with what my feelings are telling me that are rights or wrongs. These ethics are general guidance information for application and impacts of such laws. The code ethics of South Sudanese law lack awareness or misunderstanding of legal power which the court is thinking it will work today like extremely lightening thunder of a drought rain disaster by sentencing 16 officials from the office of the President for death in prison. Of course seventy two years (72) in prison for thirty years old man is already life in prison and death in prison. May be the Presidency is consulted the way I know law firms in South Sudan; there is no law independence in South Sudan. Lawyers defended on unfair trials and opinion of the executives which is sometimes good or bad depending on number of series conveniences.
And if Presidency is consulted for this life in prison, it is still very wrong, because the money is not for presidency; or the money is not for government, because there is no government without people; the money belong to citizens. It is citizens’ rights to sentence or pardon. Instead ministers and directors are self- development agencies on public resources, it is better whoever open his/her eyes to benefit like them should be allow to survive too, why not?. The citizens are very people being exploited all along by constituted government officials since 2005 until today; it had been paralyzed weak law institutions which permitted crimes in the country to spread like flooded water, and you see foreigners behave notoriously than citizens.
I always argued that what you think is the best in your mind is not what is best in the ethics of law. And if the South Sudan High Court thinks jailing of 16 officials from the office of the president is the right option than what kind of country are we? If we jailed 16 people for money laundering and leaving those who kills lives for free movement to kill more and more than what types of animals are we? Which one is better and important, human or money? Why do we love money most than human? Why the court in South Sudan does selected style of citizens for trial and leaving citizens of the same problem free? I hope my questions will provoke you to anger but it is true. I need you to understand that although you are a lawyer or lawyers (those who judged 16 officials case), what you have done is too local even our traditional lawyers may not attempt to judge so. Which country jailed its citizens in life imprisonment for money? Note this, you are not the only supreme law experts who may translate laws for better; anybody somehow somewhere is the best translator of the law. It is the mandate only to you by people or who make others to be the head of others; it is not a choice; it is a chance and your chance is failing.
The arts of law are for everybody. There is no person above the law and according to The Transitional Constitution of The Republic of South Sudan, 2011, Article 14. Reads, “All persons are equal before the law and are entitled to the equal protection of the law without discrimination as to race, ethnic origin, colour, sex, language, religious creed, political opinion, birth, locality or social status.” I want the High Court to convince me and other South Sudanese by drop out unfair trials. The government of South Sudan was established in 2005, and President Salva Kiir Mayardit selected commission of South Sudan Ant – Corruption Commission (SSACC), and Employees Justice Camber, (EJC) and tasked them to followed issues of money frauds, injustice, stealing, cheating, exploitation etc. but the commissions become toothless in our face which encouraged 16 officials to go along the line of seventy five officials.
Therefore, the complaint is unfairness to fairness of 16 victims, because equality before the law and legality of court environment are the pillars of law firms in the country. The far most convincing concepts are fair trials of all those who had involved in such activities like 16 official that are sentenced to life in prison. For instance, the first famous culprits of dura saga were the high crime which majority of South Sudanese know from the very beginning. Second, there were two farmer ministers of finance in government of Southern Sudan (GOSS). Third we have big number of seventy five thieves (call them officials) who took 4 $ billion. Fourth, minister of finance Koste Monebe, and cabinet affairs Deng Alor Kuol who were also stopped from their offices in 2013 by the President due money frauds. Fifth, central bank governor must be jail too. Why doesn’t he control management of public funds? He must be charge with money frauds with his directors. Sixth, those who eat soldiers’ money, and use it for business. And finally 16 jailed officials in the office of the President, and others who stealing public funds and individuals funds in secrets plus those who took three – four plots for themselves in all states. Have you see this huge gap? That is the complaint.
If the above officials are jailed together with 16 officials, fine but if there is a kind of division of classic hierarchy of the same South Sudanese who did the same objectives self-development, and grabbing of public funds, we will not keep quiet, because there is existed classless society in South Sudan. We are all equal before the court of law, there is no better person to be ignore by law in South Sudan; nor the president, or minister, nor general or director, all of us are equal before the law (legally and meaningfully, not to tell law verbally).
Furthermore, the high court is bias or politically motivated to fulfil flattering ambition. There is no reason a court which is in charge of reducing crimes in the country closing one eye and open another for seeing nation Affairs in angle. It is good to jailed somebody whom the case may not overshadow you in the nearest future.
To sentence 16 officials uniformly is an overlapping concept of law. The legal philosophy set up rules that adherence to ruled us by threats, no longer a law. One may think lawyers in these cases put robes on their neck; something that will not free them escalating blood and may not allow them to sleep comfortable at night. There is no case which is uniform; it is not a cloth, even among the sixteen jailed officials, they know innocents. As the victims may appeal after seven days, three things need to be considering by the high court to reverse the case into true justice and fairness. Here are the three complaints to be considering.
- Those involved in money frauds including farmer ministers, dura saga, seventy five officials who took 4 $ billions and others who stolen public funds before and after 16 officials from the office of the president must face justice to convince public for bias.
- Seventy two years sentenced as consequences of all 16 people doesn’t make legal sense. The sentence may follow years after years according their involvement in crimes. I translate that these people should not be sentence uniformly.
- Since the court sentenced them to prison, 1. 4 $ millions must be given to their families because they are going to work for the government, not their families anymore.
The role of ethics display or intent to demonstrate lack of personal integrity for lawyer professional ethics whereby equal right of the society- our society South Sudan is left out with their huge rights, that I am telling you Lawyers, we use to make money, and we will make trillions, more than what the 16 officials had stolen, but we cannot make a single life for South Sudanese Society. Therefore, I will be proud if the court sentence to life in prison unknown gunmen who always kill people in all corners of Juba, high ways, than sentencing those stolen money in offices beyond the what the law required, but if you sentence both in a fair manner with their crimes steps, no problem.
The author is a co-founder of National Mental Health Care Organization (NMHCO); He holds Bachelor degree in Social Work and Social Administration from SSCUST, Bachelor of Theology from CLT, Bungoma, Kenya/Kalispell, USA, and a fellow researcher. He can be reach at tonggaid551@yahoo.com/davidmatiopgai@gmail.com
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