Human Rights Lawyer speaks out on rape case involving Akot Chan Aroup and 17-year-old girl in South Sudan

An Open Letter to the Awan Community and the People of Bahr El Ghazal

Dear Respected Elders, Brothers, and Sisters,

My name is Akot Chan and today I write to you with a heart crushed by sorrow, reaching out from behind these prison walls with the only thing I have left — my words.

I am serving a 17-year prison sentence — not because I committed a terrible crime, but because I am poor.
I lost my freedom, my dignity, and the woman I love because I’m not wealthy.
The one I once called my mother — my own mother-in-law, Miss Angelina Angeth Malong — is the one who caused my imprisonment.
She turned against me, not for what I did, but for what I did not have.

I am writing with tears in my eyes and pain in my chest to plead:
I am asking the Awan Community and all the people of Bahr El Ghazal to please reach out to my mother-in-law. Talk to her. Remind her of the humanity that binds us together. Remind her that a son’s worth is not counted by silver and gold, but by love, respect, and loyalty.

I have no way to raise $150,000 while locked behind bars. I have no business, no voice but this letter.
I am locked away, not just in prison, but in silence and despair.

I plead with you, honorable elders, noble leaders, mothers and fathers of our land: Please, go to her. Speak to her heart. Remind her of the bond that once united us. Remind her that love and forgiveness are greater than wealth.

I loved with all my heart. I respected with all my soul.
Now I suffer with all my being.

Is a man’s life to be destroyed because he was born poor?
Is love no longer sacred unless paid for in gold?

Please — I beg the Awan Community and the people of Bahr El Ghazal:
Help me. Speak for me. Advocate for me.
Talk to my mother-in-law and ask her to show mercy.
Ask her to remember that one day, we all stand before God, and it is not riches He will ask us about, but the love and kindness we showed one another.

Even from this dark place, I cling to the hope that somewhere, a heart will hear me. That somewhere, mercy still lives.

May God bless you all.
May God bless the Awan Community and Bahr El Ghazal.

With tears but still with hope,
Akot Chan
Juba National Prison
27/4/2025

Human Rights Lawyer speaks out on case involving Akot Chan Aroup and 17-year-old girl

Godfrey Victor Bulla, a human rights lawyer, and activist representing the underage victim in the case between complainant Atap Malong and convicted offender Akot Chan Aroup, has broken his silence regarding the matter.

The lawyer representing the underage victim in the case involving convicted offender Akot Chan Aroup has come forward to clarify the facts, following a controversial plea made by Akot on social media.

Akot, who is currently serving a 17-year sentence at Juba Prison, took to Facebook under the name “Akot V8” to appeal for forgiveness and financial assistance. He asked well-wishers to help him raise $150,000 in compensation to Angelina Angeth Malong and urged her to “release” him from prison, claiming the sentence was unjust.

In his social media posts, Akot denied ever committing any crime, accused the complainant of bribing the court, and alleged that he was imprisoned simply because he is poor. He further claimed that the charges stemmed from a failed relationship, alleging that the complainant’s family refused to let him marry his girlfriend and instead used the money to falsely accuse him of a crime he did not commit. 

However, these claims have been met with firm rejection from the victim’s legal representative.

Godfrey Victor Bulla, a prominent human rights lawyer, and activist who represented the victim in the case between Atap Malong (the complainant) and Akot Chan Aroup have condemned Akot’s social media allegations as false, misleading, and a direct insult to the pursuit of justice for victims of gender-based violence.

According to Godfrey, the victim, whose identity remains confidential for safety and privacy reasons, was sexually assaulted and raped in 2022 by Akot Chan Aruop. At the time of the crime, the girl was 17 years old, while Akot was an adult over 20.  

Lawyer Bulla recounted the events that resulted in Akot Chan Aruop’s 17-year imprisonment and the court’s decision to order him to pay $150,000 to the victim’s family. 

He shared this account with the media to inform the public and provide his client’s perspective, especially in response to Akot Chan’s viral social media posts. 

He said:
“The victim in this case whose name has been withheld for protection and privacy was raped in 2022 by Akot Chan Aruop. The girl was at the age of 17 years old at the time of the incident, and the convict, Akot was an adult above 20 years old of age. 

The convict, Akot Chan met the victim at a church in Kampala, falsely presenting himself as a pastor. The girl, who was part of the choir, trusted his deception.  

As recounted by my client, Akot lured her to his private residence in Kampala under the pretense of involving her in church activities, where he then raped her.  

Months later, the victim realized she had missed her menstrual cycle and began experiencing pregnancy symptoms. She notified Akot who had posed as a pastor during school hours about her condition. Upon learning this, Akot instructed her to meet him so he could take her to a nearby local clinic.  

During the court hearings, the victim explained the accounts of what had happened. She testified that Akot took her to a local clinic in the area which has no even signboard. There, the local doctor and Akot provided her with small tablets. Before taking them, she questioned Akot about their purpose, to which he responded that they were painkillers to relieve body pain. After taking the tablet, she returned to school.  

The next day, Akot called her back to the same clinic for another visit with the doctor. When she asked why they were going again, Akot explained that they needed to check if her pregnancy symptoms were still present.  

Upon returning to the clinic, she was given a different tablet. Shortly after taking it, she lost consciousness and became completely unaware of her surroundings. According to her testimony in court, she believed that the tablet was given to her by the local doctor and Akot caused her to lose consciousness.

She recounted that while she was unconscious, a sharp object was inserted into her uterus from below, where it was used to cut her five-month-old, well-developed fetus. The baby’s legs were severed before it was forcibly removed. During the horrific procedure, the fetus was dislodged from the uterus and died near her lower spine. The brutal act also left her ovary severely damaged, rendering her permanently unable to conceive a child for the rest of her life.

When she regained consciousness, she found herself bleeding heavily and desperately asked Akot, “What’s happening?” Instead of helping, Akot and the doctor left, abandoning her in agony. Weak and terrified, she managed to run to the home of her aunt, Atap Malong Akol, Angelina Angeth Malong’s sister to seek help.  

By the time she arrived, her condition was critical; she was losing blood rapidly and nearly collapsed. The men at the house, alarmed by her state but unaware of the cause, immediately rushed her to the Case Clinic in Kampala for emergency care.  

Upon arriving at Case Clinic, the attending doctor, a surgeon named Dr. Johnathan Empango, assessed her condition and quickly recognized it as a case of criminal abortion. He immediately contacted the police, who arrested the young men. The doctor was unaware that the young men were the victim’s brothers and mistakenly believed they were responsible for allowing the girl to undergo a forced, unlawful, and unprofessional abortion.

Her brothers who had brought her to the hospital, were unaware of the circumstances. The brothers said they were related to her and explained that she came home bleeding and severely collapsed, which is why they rushed her to the hospital. 

The doctor realized it was an abortion case and immediately ordered surgery. At that time, the complainant of the case was in Juba and had to travel to Kampala. When she arrived, the operation had already been done, and the baby had been removed and kept as evidence.

When the complainant, Atap Malong, reached the Case Clinic, the doctor showed her the fetus. It was a baby girl, about five and a half months old, whose legs had been cut off during a failed local abortion attempt using sharp objects. Pictures of the fetus were taken and shown in court.

The young girl was kept in a separate ICU for three weeks. The doctor instructed everyone not to ask her any questions during her 21-day stay in the ICU at Case Clinic in Kampala. She often fainted and needed help. She went through two major surgeries that lasted nine and a half hours in total. 

After 21 days, the girl was able to talk and tell the full story. She confirmed that Akot was responsible for what happened. After hearing this, Atap Malong, the person filing the complaint, opened a case in Juba while the girl was still in the hospital.

After finding out that the girl was close to death, Akot, the convict, ran away to Nairobi. Without planning it, he later ended up in Juba and then went to his home village in Aweil to hide.

According to South Sudan law, if where the panel code of South Sudan is not operational for a particular offense, the court in South Sudan can still exercise jurisdiction as if the offense had been committed within South Sudan.

In the same 2022, a doctor in Kampala reported that a local doctor had damaged a woman’s large intestines while trying to do an abortion using sharp tools. Because of this, waste was leaking from her intestines instead of going through the normal path. Doctors at Case Clinic in Uganda had to remove the damaged parts of her intestines, join the healthy parts, and then refer her to Royal Care Hospital in Khartoum, Sudan before the war started.

In Sudan, doctors read the Ugandan report and began their investigation. They said they needed a special medical device (a radiographer) from Germany to see what was inside her body. The victim’s family had to pay to have the device brought in. After examining her, the doctor did another surgery to properly place her intestines.

She went through three major operations to fix the issue. After the first surgery, she had complications and her stomach swelled. So, she had to go through two more surgeries until the problem was finally solved.

While she was being treated in Khartoum, the convict, Akot was found hiding in a village, arrested, and taken to a Northern police station in Juba for investigation and court proceedings.

In April 2023, while she was still receiving treatment in Khartoum, war broke out and Royal Care Hospital was destroyed. She and the two family members who were looking after her while undergoing medication escaped Khartoum, traveling through Paloch to reach Juba. 

While escaping the war in Khartoum, the victim got into critical conditions again and was taken to Nile King Specialist Hospital in Juba. Her condition worsened, so she was moved to Kampala for better treatment and later sent to Egypt. In Egypt, doctors treated her again because her earlier treatments in Khartoum were interrupted by the war. She was admitted to the Saudi German Hospital in Cairo, where doctors said her previous operations had failed. Again, a special radiology machine was brought from Germany, and she had three major surgeries.

After the successful surgeries in Cairo, a police investigator from Juba traveled to Cairo to investigate the victim. A few months later, she was discharged, but doctors said her uterus and ovaries were badly damaged, and she would never be able to have children. She returned to Juba to complete taking her medication and began attending court.

In a 2023 court hearing, Akot admitted in front of everyone that he had sex with the girl, claiming she was his girlfriend. The victim told the court that Akot was the one who got her pregnant and forced her to have an abortion without her consent at a local clinic. Akot did not deny this.

Both Akot and the victim spoke in court. A doctor from Kampala was transported to Juba and he confirmed she was 17 years old at the time, and this was supported by a medical exam, the victim’s own words, and the police investigator’s statement.

During the investigation, I traveled with the police to collect medical records from Kampala and Egypt. All the evidence was presented in court.

Under our laws, anybody below the age of 18 years is called a juvenile, and any sexual intercourse with that person below 18 years is considered to be rape in violation of section 247 of the panel code 2008. 

In this regard, any consent given by a juvenile is not consent because the underage person lacks the capacity to know the difference between good and bad. That is why the law protects any person under the age of 18 years.

Why was he convicted for 17 years in prison? 
On December 23, 2023, Akot was found guilty of two crimes: rape (under section 247) and forced abortion (under section 220) of the South Sudan Penal Code. He was sentenced to 17 years in prison and ordered to pay $150,000 to cover medical, travel, and other expenses.

What 150,000 $ is for? 
Although this money was for costs, the court did not give any compensation for what the victim went through. The $150,000 covers treatment in Khartoum, Juba, Kampala, and Egypt, plus travel, food, and accommodation.

On Akot’s allegations: 
Now, Akot is spreading lies on social media about the case. I don’t know how he’s posting from prison, but it’s wrong to share false and private information.

To be clear, it was not Angelina Angeth Malong who sent Akot to prison, it was the legal system of South Sudan. He broke the law, the court ruled, and he was given a right to appeal the court ruling. 

Akot’s call for help from Awan Chan and Aweil Communities: 
This case should not be turned into a political or community issue. It is a legal matter. Akot is responsible for his actions. It is not the responsibility of his community or state. Anyone who breaks the law is personally accountable.

A criminal responsibility is an individual responsibility and Akot should face his imprisonment. Whoever violates the law should be responsible for his/her actions as a person but not as a community, state, region, or Country. 

I don’t see anything that needs the intervention of a community or state in this matter. This is a criminal case and the court has decided based on the law.

Akot’s claim that he had wanted to marry the victim:
Akot claims he wanted to marry the victim, but this case was never about marriage, it was about breaking the law by raping an underage and forcing an abortion. Neither Angelina Angeth Malong nor the victim’s family decided his punishment. That was up to the court and the law.

Akot’s plea for forgiveness from the victim’s family: 
Akot has asked for forgiveness on social media but forgiveness doesn’t come through social media. It must be sincere from someone’s heart. The victim’s family may have forgiven him, but it is the law that is punishing him.

Next actions:
Lastly, we plan to file a defamation lawsuit against Akot and any media outlets that publish false stories about this case.” Lawyer Godfrey concluded.

About Post Author