JUBA — The Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Juvenile Court is facing a critical shortage of vehicles to transport inmates from prison to court due to a lack of fuel for two vans.
Andrew Joshua Lado, the head of the Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Juvenile Court, has raised alarms over serious mobility challenges affecting court operations, citing a lack of fuel for the two vans donated by UNDP.
“We have the issue of mobility for judges. There are two vans donated by UNDP, but the issue of fuel for these vans has become a problem, and we do not have trucks or vehicles to bring inmates from prison to the court,” said Lado on Tuesday at the GBV and Juvenile Court premises during the handover ceremony of the renovated holding cell.
“If you go to prison now, you will see a backlog of cases because inmates are not brought regularly to court due to the lack of suitable vehicles to transport them to the GBV or Juvenile Court,” Lado added.
Stephen Simon, the president of the Court of Appeal under the Greater Equatoria Circuit, noted that the GBV and Juvenile Court started with four judges, which has now increased to five as the number of cases rises.
“With the appointment of the new Chief Justice in the judiciary, we will continue to increase the number of judges. We know the new chief justice started work as a judicial assistant, and we expect a lot of changes,” he said.
Catherine Waliaula, Chief Technical Advisor for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), stated that the renovation of the holding cell was done with the generous support of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
“The establishment of the GBV and Juvenile Court is to support every step to ensure that victims have access to justice and the accused can face the court in a fair manner. We will continue to work together in capacity building, infrastructure support, technical assistance, and policy dialogue over the years,” said Waliaula.
Quirine Timmerman, the First Secretary of Political Affairs and Rule of Law at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, emphasized that the independence of the judiciary is particularly important for fair access to justice.
“This is a milestone, as witness and survivor protection is now more guaranteed. The focus on the juvenile court is a good idea; it is about reducing backlogs and is connected to education. We need an independent justice system,” said Timmerman.
