Machar: Judges are quitting in ‘good numbers’ for greener pastures

JUBA – South Sudan’s First Vice President and chair of the governance cluster, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, said Thursday that judicial officers are leaving for greener pastures in large numbers due to poor remuneration.

Machar revealed this during the inauguration ceremony of the Judicial Reform Committee (JRC) in Juba yesterday.

“In our judiciary, a good number of judges have left the judiciary. One reason could be low pay and the working conditions in the judiciary are not attractive to many,” Machar said.

Machar who is also the leader of the main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) called for the expansion of the judiciary to include law graduates.

“In our Universities, the number of graduates they produced yearly is fewer than the requirement. Also if they graduate, if we have not extended the judiciary, they don’t get employment,” he said.

Last year, Justice Ayak Der Kom Awan who sits on the Supreme Court raised concerns over the delayed disposal of cases that are frustrating the judiciary.

Awan said Judiciary is struggling to deal with a huge case backlog largely due to understaffing.

The Supreme Court has only five active judges out of 11 whereas the Court of Appeal has seven active members out of 18.

There are only 22 active judges out of 30 in the High Court and in the lower County courts there are 19 actives out of 43 magistrates.

In July 2017, President Salva Kiir dismissed 14 judges after they went on strike to demand better working conditions and the removal of Chief Justice Chan Reech Madut from the bench for ignoring their pleas on improving their working conditions.

Awan said that the dismissal of the 14 judges by President Kiir has left a vacuum in the judiciary.