A Lakes State youth section in is decrying judges’ sentences for impregnating underage girls, saying the law disregards Dinka culture.
Judges at Lakes State High Court have sent a number of male youths up to 14 years to prison for impregnating girls below 18 years of age.Peter Ring Ariik told Good News Radio that the youth are reacting negatively to the ruling of the judges because the law applied disregards the Dinka culture, arguing that for any law to be relevant must be rooted in the customs of the people.
He said pregnancies out of wedlock are not a new phenomenon and customarily law does not consider a crime making a minor pregnant but a way of starting a family.
Mr. Rind added that issues of underage consented sex and related pregnancies should be dealt by the traditional leaders.
He said that according to Dinka culture, a girl is considered of age after her first menstrual period.
Mr. Ring asked the judges to respect the traditional ways, saying customary law is superior to the 2008 South Sudan Penal Code.
He made a distinction between rape and sexual intercourse with consent, arguing that the cases ruled by judges in the recent days should be deemed social cases to be handled by cultural leaders like traditional chiefs.
The President of Lakes State High Court, Geri Raimondo Lege, early this week dismissed the youths’ views, insisting that the judges in South Sudan are pro-people.
Judge Raimondo said that the convicts could always appeal to higher courts.
He added that the judges were implementing not only the laws of South Sudan but also Lakes State customary law.
Prison sentences to the youth involved in sex with minors are coming in the wake of concerted efforts by different stakeholders to promote girl child education through policies and laws that protect girls from early and forced marriages.