South Sudan: advocacy group demands access to justice for inmates

By Okech Francis

All people in prison have a right to dignity and access to justice, Jackline Nasiwa, the Executive Director of Center for Inclusive Governance Peace and Justice, said.

“There are certain rights that the imprisoned have such as a court hearing within a certain amount of time and the assignment of a lawyer from the Ministry of Justice,” Nasiwa said during a visit to assess access justice for inmates at Juba prison in South Sudan’s Central Equatoria state on Monday.

She was accompanied by Grassroots Network’s Executive Director, Sunday Moga who noted that hardships, poverty and debts as reasons why women are being imprisoned.

According to a 2019 report by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), gender-based violence is one of the most critical threats to the protection and wellbeing of women and children in South Sudan. At least 65 percent of women and girls in South Sudan have experienced physical and sexual violence in their lifetime, it noted.