Army court adjourns trial of soldier linked to killing of 3 Syrians 1 local over insufficient exhibits

JUBA, JANUARY 27^th 2023 (SUDANS POST) – South Sudan army’s General Court Marial on Friday adjourned sitting in the trial of a service member who is accused of killing three Syrian nationals and one South Sudanese in Warrap state due to insufficient exhibits.

SSPDF spokesman Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang said the court adjourned the sitting to 10^th February after the prosecution team requested two weeks to collect and tender its exhibits.

An exhibit is a document or material object used as evidence in a court.

In private Yak Garang Yak’s case, Gen. Lul said the exhibits include a weapon, two phones and a car.

“They (prosecution team) say that they want the exhibit to be presented, the exhibit includes the gun which used to commit the crime, the two phones that were taken from the deceased by the suspect,” the army spokesman told journalists in Juba on Friday.

“And then the witnesses who were at the scene when the crime was committed and the vehicle that was broken into and commandeers but recovered.”

On January 7, Private Yak Garang Yak opened fire on construction workers killing at least four people including three Syrians and one citizen, a 15-year-old boy from Warrap state.

They were working for a UK firm, CKM International Company, which was contracted to build the house of President Salva Kiir in Akon village of Gogrial West.

Lul said the prosecution team court needed all the exhibits to proceed with the case.

“They requested for the session to be adjourned two more weeks so that time is given for evidence to be collected and brought to Juba,” he said.

He said prosecutors wanted to also produce witnesses before the court.

“All the witnesses are still in Warrap especially the relatives of the fourth deceased who was a South Sudanese national, so that process requires time for witnesses to be airlifted from Warrap to Juba.”

He said the public prosecutors stressed for the need to have time to present the authorization letter of the complainer before the court.

“Therefore, they (the prosecution team) want an authorization letter from the complainer to be presented before the court in the next session,” he said.

“That authorization from complainer should either be given to legal person presenting the prosecution team or to the company that employed the three employees that were murdered Akon village.”