Gen. Salva Mathok Gengdit at Eye Radio in April 2021 | Credit | Jale Richard/Eye Radio

The former deputy minister of interior has called for an overhaul of the judicial system, saying it has collapsed.

General Salva Mathok who is now a member of parliament says there is no rule of law in the country due to the weakness of courts to prosecute many criminal cases.

Speaking exclusively to Eye Radio, Salva Mathok stated that prisons and detention centers across the country are overcrowded with detainees spending years without trial.

Last week, the deputy director-general of Juba Central Prison told Eye Radio that Juba Central Prison was home to 1,790 inmates—including men, women, and juveniles.

Out of this, only 500 have been tried in courts while the rest are still waiting for their cases to be heard.

Salva Mathok now representing Gogrial East in the Transitional National Legislative Assembly believes criminal cases have been politicized.

Commenting on communal conflicts where hundreds of people are killed in cattle-related violence and revenge attacks, the legislator says suspects in many of the incidents are neither arrested nor prosecuted.

He attributes this to what he calls a bad culture of communities backing their sons even if they are accused of committing heinous crimes.