The defamation case traces back to February 2021, when the Luanjang Community youths, through a representative, wrote a letter to the President

Emmanuel Mandella

The Grade One Magistrate of Juba County Court, Lual Cuei, on Tuesday adjourned the defamation trial involving three members of the Luanjang Community to October 17. The suit was filed by National Minister for General Education and Instruction, Awut Deng Acuil after she was accused of preventing students from parts of Tonj East County from sitting for their 2021 final exams.

The defamation case traces back to February 2021, when the Luanjang Community youths, represented by their interim chairperson Marcelo Deng Magon, wrote a letter to President Salva Kiir.

In the letter, they claimed Minister Awut had stopped Primary Eight students from participating in their exams, citing insecurity as the reason. Awut subsequently filed a defamation suit in February 2022 against Magon, Machiek Dongrin, and Tinjok Ruben Dhal, a medical student at Bahr el-Ghazal University.

In October last year, the Supreme Court referred the case to the Juba County Court. However, during Tuesday’s session, tensions arose when Minister Awut’s lawyer, Monyluak Alor Kuol, requested the trial be held in camera, effectively barring the public from attending the proceedings.

The defense, led by Advocate Kiir Chol Deng of Kiirdit and Co. Advocates, opposed the request, calling for a public hearing, but Judge Cuei ruled in favor of a closed-door trial.

“We heard the matter today, but Awut’s lawyer asked for the case to be heard in camera,” Chol told the media after the court session. “We objected, but the judge ruled in her favor. We’ll challenge that decision.”

Advocate Chol contended that holding the hearing behind closed doors was unwarranted, arguing that South Sudan’s constitution mandates open court proceedings except under exceptional circumstances, which he said the plaintiff’s lawyer failed to demonstrate.

“They could not provide a legitimate reason for why the case should be conducted in camera,” Chol added. “We will appeal this decision to the High Court. This is an unfair trial.”

According to Chol, the plaintiff’s lawyer argued that the words used in the defamation case were severe enough to cause embarrassment if made public. However, Chol insists that the accusations themselves were made publicly, and the trial should reflect that transparency.

“The allegations are that the defamatory statements are severe and could embarrass the complainant, but this matter has already been made public,” he stated. “We believe there is no case here. The prosecution is without merit.”

The court session on October 17 is expected to feature the cross-examination of Minister Awut, which the defense hopes will shed further light on the accusations and the legitimacy of the closed-door trial.

“We heard the matter today, but Awut’s lawyer asked for the case to be heard in camera,” Kiir Chol Deng of Kiirdit and Co. Advocates, defense advocate told the media.