Governor’s Visit Sparks Swift Releases
Aweil State Prison opened its gates on Thursday as Governor Charles Dut Akol ordered the release of about eighty inmates, marking the region’s customary New Year amnesty.
Focus on Women and Juveniles
State Minister of Gender, Child and Social Welfare Tereza Aker Malual said she personally saw women, girls and boys regain freedom, some after three years in custody without judgment.
She plans to return to the facility to screen additional minor cases that could benefit from similar clemency, insisting “no one should be jailed in place of another.”
Overcrowding Pressures Highlighted
Police spokesman Lt. Col. Madut Ngong Aleu noted that festive reviews and cattle donations by governors have become institutional tradition, partly to relieve chronic congestion in cells designed for far fewer people.
Calls for Reintegration Support
Civil society leader Christopher Door Akol praised the gesture as “restoration of dignity” but urged programs that guide former inmates back into productive community life.
Observers argue that without vocational training and psychosocial help, beneficiaries risk drifting into the same poverty-linked disputes that landed many behind bars.
Legal Reforms Remain Urgent
Rights monitors say South Sudan’s justice system still struggles with prolonged pre-trial detention and unlawful arrests, issues that periodic amnesties alone cannot solve.
Lawyers interviewed in Aweil recommend expanding mobile courts, improving investigative capacity and allocating resources for public defenders to curb future overcrowding.