Former Wau County Commissioner Acquitted

This article was last updated on May 25, 2022

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His trial follows last year’s Wau violence that erupted over the proposed transfer of the county headquarters to Bagari which led to loss of several lives and consequent detention of Miskin for allegedly instigating the violence. 

In March, Miskin was charged with ten counts; including charges against mobilizing the youth to destabilize the state after he resigned his post earlier in October 2012 as the county commissioner.  
On March Tuesday 26, the Special Court dropped out nine charges out of ten filed against Miskin.

Based on Article 52 of the South Sudan punishment law, Bouka Ajowaj, the judge who presided over Miskin’s upheld only one charge that accused the former commissioner of instigating and inciting violence that led to loss of lives and destruction of property. 

This charge was however on Thursday dismissed due to lack of enough evidence. 

Speaking to the journalists in front of Wau North Court after the acquittal, the lawyer representing Miskin, Kur Lual Kur said it was not an easy case but the court managed to dig out the truth.

“It was not easy for the judiciary but with human’s right mandates, I was acquitted,” he said.

Members of Parliament Hassan Ngor Aguer and former State Government Minister for Information Sebit Baptism have also been acquitted early this month.

The trial began in February the arrival of three judges from Juba to preside over the court hearings against the suspects of the Wau violence.

In March, the court has sentence seven youth to one year imprisonment found guilty over the violence and dismissing four others. 

In February, Amnesty International released a report accusing Western Bahr El Ghazal government of arresting suspects without warrants and enough evidence.

The report said 100 suspects were being detained in Wau Central Prison, including senior politicians, civil servants, and activists, members of state assembly, security members and journalists.

State governor Rizik Zackaria Hassan however brushed aside the Amnesty International report, calling it unfair and bias.