Juba court adjourns hearing of defamatory case against lawyer Majok

Juba court has adjourned the first hearing of criminal defamation case against city lawyer Peter Madut Majok Kuol to January 4 2024.

Majok was dragged to court by businessman Bak Mayen who alleges that the latter published defamatory statement on his Facebook page in November where he alleged that Mayen was corrupt and a criminal.

“I opened a case against Peter Madut Majok Kuol, he announced to the public on Facebook that I am a criminal and corrupt and he said that I owed him 200,000 U.S dollars which has not been proven,” said Mayen while speaking to journalists in Juba after court session on Wednesday.

“I want to prove to the people that the information is fabricated, his absence tells the world that I am innocent, I expect the court to do justice,” he added.

Simon Okeny, the lead defense lawyer of businessman Bak Mayen said that the existing provisions of the 2008 Penal Code treats defamation as a criminal offense.

“The case is opened against Peter Madut Majok Kuol because of defamation, the main issue is tarnishing the image, he has gone viral on Facebook platform tarnishing the name of the businessman Bak Mayen,” said Okeny.

Okeny said the presiding judge Farris Hassan adjourned the hearing to January 4, 2024 to allow the accused Peter Madut Majok Kuol to attend the hearing.