By Chol Michael Maker – the SPLM diehard cadre, Juba, South Sudan
Sunday, 14 August 2022 (PW) — Mayom’s unethical behaviour needs to be examined holistically, otherwise it goes contrary to the recent awards our president has received as a champion of peace, as indicated by some opinion makers throughout media outlets’ opinion polls of late. Remember, Archbishop Desmond Tutu has often spoken of the need to forgo retributive justice in order to balance truth, justice, and reconciliation.
If we could sympathetically be endeared as we borrow his words and practice the essence of those wishes, then we would certainly live in a better world. In other words, President Kiir’s speeches on peaceful coexistence have all been geared towards the avoidance of revenge killings and bitterness against a flag-waving citizen or a fellow human being.
We’re part of the world’s protocols so we shouldn’t lose contact with the fact of the truth that military tribunals are totally different from the civil courts and in that matter South Sudan’s People’s Defence Force (SSPDF) military justice system under which the military tribunals are enacted has a moral obligation to execute military personnel.
Moreover, it’s important to know that military tribunals are distinct from courts-martial and are strictly designed to judicially try members of the military formations and indeed the enemy forces during wartime and peacetime respectively.
They normally operate outside the scope of conventional criminal and civil proceedings, and the judges are military officers who fulfill the role of jurors. As such, let’s give the benefit of the doubt in case some of us don’t have faith in the institution.
The blame for what happened in Mayom county in the Unity State and the whole exercise falls entirely on the shoulders of the few wannabes who have taken the law into their own hands by condemning to death the mutinous officers extrajudicially.
There’s no need for anyone in their sane minds to embroil the president in something that looks like a revenge killing which was positively feudal.
General public opinion and the military code of conduct are being levelled against the blatant preparatory setup for the thorough investigation into the case, so we must refrain from misjudgment and counter-accusations against the federal government and see what transpires when all is said and passed through sound judgment.
The thing about video clips and pictures is a sorry saga that will be blamed on the reckless endangerment involved. As things stand, no clear indication of indignation is yet to be desired from the Unity State Government, despite the general public outcry for the indecent life-ending processes.
I believe the penalty was conducted hurriedly based on Hammurabi’s code of “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” Thus, public opinion suspension
NB: What is the meaning of retributive justice?
Retributive justice is a response to criminal behaviour that focuses on the punishment of lawbreakers and the compensation of victims. In general, the severity of the sentence is proportionate to the seriousness of the crime.
The author, Chol Michael Maker, is a concerned SPLM die-hard who can be reached via his email address: Chol Michael cholmichael68@gmail.com
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