Abraham Chol sentenced to over 2.5 years in jail for ‘insulting” Kiir

JUBA – Controversial South Sudanese cleric Abraham Chol Maketh was on Tuesday sentenced to more than two and half years in jail by a special court in the country’s capital Juba after having been found guilty of “insulting” President Slava Kiir Mayardit.

The leader of the Cush International Church was arrested in July last year after stating in one of his prophecies that President Salva Kiir Mayardit and First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny won’t be in their positions by July 9th 2021 during the country’s 10th independence anniversary and that a new leader will take over the country.

According to the judgement pronounced by Judge Samia Mohamed of the Special Court in Juba, Abraham Chol is accused of violating sections 72 and 202 of the South Sudan Penal Code Act of 2008 and sentenced Chol to 31 months in jail beginning from the day he was arrested.

The court also fined Chol at least 500,000 South Sudanese Pounds (around $800). Failure to pay this amount will land Chol an extra three-months jail term.