Juba County caretaker commissioner bans display of coffins along roads

The caretaker commissioner of Juba County has announced a ban on displaying coffins along roads, arguing that the practice contradicts South Sudanese cultural values and should be replaced with more discreet ways of advertising funeral businesses.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Eye Radio on Friday, the commissioner directed coffin sellers to keep their products inside stores rather than displaying them in public.

“In our culture as South Sudanese, you don’t make exhibition of coffins,” the commissioner said. “When you make exhibition of coffins, it is like you want people to die. You are wishing people to die.”

He questioned why authorities and the public should allow the practice to continue, saying cultural norms, traditions and community values should inform the laws governing society.

“The source of any law in the world is the culture, is the norm, is the tradition, is the values of any community,” he said.

The commissioner said the restriction would apply within Juba County, describing the area as his jurisdiction and pledging to exercise his authority to stop the public display of coffins.

“I am banning it also in Juba County. This is my territory. This is where I exercise my power,” he said.

He instructed coffin sellers not to display coffins along roads and suggested that funeral businesses could instead operate from designated premises, using signs or photographs to inform customers about their services.

“Keep them in the store,” he said, adding that businesses could use names such as “coffin house” or “funeral house” and display pictures of their products.

“You can even make a picture of it or a photo of it. Put it there. But never put them along the road,” he said.

The commissioner also recounted an allegation involving a coffin seller who he claimed had kidnapped a neighbour’s child to take measurements for a coffin. The allegation was raised during the interview, but Eye Radio has not independently verified it.

The proposed restriction raises questions about how the county administration intends to implement the ban, including whether formal regulations or enforcement measures will be introduced.

Eye Radio could not establish from the interview whether the county has issued a written order detailing the implementation of the restriction.