JUBA, South Sudan
The Government of South Sudan
has said it will not abolish the death penalty and insists it is a deterrent to
prevent serious crimes.
Addressing the media shortly
after the cabinet meeting chaired by President Salva Kiir, Information Minister
Michael Makuei Lueth said the cabinet listened to a presentation by the
Minister of Justice regarding the Universal Periodic Review Working Group of
the United Nations fortieth session to examine South Sudan’s human rights
record.
He said the cabinet approved
all the points of the review except the request for South Sudan to abandon the
death penalty, saying it does not conform to the laws of the country.
“Even America (USA) which was
the first country to abandon hanging is back to hanging now so hanging is a
deterrent action,” Makuei said. “We cannot at this time change it until we
reach a certain stage where people can understand and that is the time it will
be put aside, but as of now, these are deterrent actions and this is the only
thing that can make people not commit offenses.”
He stressed that abolishing
the death penalty would encourage South Sudanese to commit heinous crimes.
“In South Sudan, even now when
people know that there is a death sentence, somebody will just say I will kill
you now and pay your blood compensation,” Minister Makuei charged. “So, if you
abolish the death sentence, it will be worse because going to prison for
maximum years or life imprisonment in South Sudan means serving 20 years and a
year in prison is 9 months. So, it is a very short period where you can kill
somebody and serve your sentence and come out, yet you have already killed a
person.”
“This is why we are against
scrapping the death sentence at present,” he added.
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