{"id":27483,"date":"2026-03-02T15:19:33","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T13:19:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=27483"},"modified":"2026-03-02T15:19:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T13:19:33","slug":"mobile-courts-bring-long-awaited-hope-of-justice-to-remote-communities-in-south-sudan","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/mobile-courts-bring-long-awaited-hope-of-justice-to-remote-communities-in-south-sudan\/","title":{"rendered":"Mobile courts bring long\u2011awaited hope of justice to remote communities in South Sudan"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">For communities that have waited years for their day in court, the initiative cannot arrive soon enough.<\/div>\n<div data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\"><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>South Sudan continues to face deep instability despite the 2018 peace agreement intended to end years of civil war. Armed clashes between government forces, opposition groups and local militias persist, displacing thousands and worsening an already dire humanitarian and protection crisis. Sexual and gender\u2011based violence (GBV) remains widespread.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cMy eight\u2011year\u2011old child was raped, and I do not know what to do as her future is already damaged,\u201d said Grace Hadia, the mother of a survivor. \u201cI have not been able to sleep since this incident. I hope justice will prevail with the deployment of the mobile court.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Officials documented 35 pending cases during the assessment mission, including nine murder cases, 15 related to sexual and gender\u2011based violence and others involving theft and serious crimes. Local leaders say GBV continues to rise, while police lack trained personnel and specialised desks to handle such cases.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cRecently, during a funeral, a woman was raped by seven men. We are still searching for the suspects so they can face justice,\u201d said Zilpha Dawa, Mundri West County Commissioner. She said cases are too often treated like ordinary offences due to a lack of resources and training.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The absence of functioning courthouses has also meant many suspects have spent years in detention without trial, contributing to severe prison overcrowding. \u201cI have spent two and a half years in prison without trial. I am hopeful now that the mobile court will come and justice will finally prevail,\u201d said one detainee.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The UN Mission in South Sudan is supporting the mobile court initiative as part of efforts to strengthen the justice chain, build trust in legal institutions and promote accountability. Mobile courts are expected to deliver more than verdicts. For many communities, they represent the first real hope that long\u2011delayed justice and healing may finally become a reality.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8211;UN\/ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":16037,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[78,26],"class_list":["post-27483","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-featured","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"A team of justice experts, escorted by United Nations (UN) peacekeepers, has travelled more than 200 kilometres from Yambio in Western Equatoria State to prepare the deployment of a mobile court that is expected to begin operating next month. ","published_date":"","news_description":"A team of justice experts, escorted by United Nations (UN) peacekeepers, has travelled more than 200 kilometres from Yambio in Western Equatoria State to prepare the deployment of a mobile court that is expected to begin operating next month. 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