By AFP
In Summary
Judges in South Sudan began a threatened strike demanding
higher wages and the resignation of the chief justice this week, a
senior judge told AFP on Wednesday.
The strike marks the failure of talks between judges and the
government of President Salva Kiir who last month set up a committee to
hear their grievances.
"Since no progress has been made, we have started our strike
since yesterday and we are continuing until the chief justice has
resigned from his office," Geri Raymondo, a senior appeal court judge
told AFP on Wednesday.
The judges' demands include increased salaries and better
working conditions as well as the resignation of chief justice Chan Reec
Madut who they accuse of poor leadership.
The strike by the country's 274 judges paralyses the
over-stretched judiciary in South Sudan leaving courts nationwide unable
to hear cases.
Raymondo said judges had suffered — like most in South Sudan —
from the collapse of the national currency meaning that a junior judge's
monthly salary of 4,000 South Sudanese pounds is now worth just $25,
down from $1,200 in 2013 before the outbreak of civil war.
Another senior judge, Khalid Mohamed Abdallah, said the strike
was also aimed at rescuing the image of the judiciary, where low wages
foster corruption.
"I am not accusing my colleagues but I think there is something
like this happening, corruption, that is why we are trying to correct
this situation as quickly as possible," he said.
The strike comes as the economic situation continues to
deteriorate in South Sudan with prices soaring in the oil-dependent
country where years of conflict have disrupted crude production.
The civil war since December 2013 has killed tens of thousands,
forced millions to flee their homes and created a famine that threatens
the lives of more than 100,000 people.
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