Ten South Sudanese soldiers have been jailed for raping foreign aid workers and murdering a local journalist.
They were found guilty by a military court on Thursday and handed their sentences. The soldiers committed the crime during an assault on a hotel in Juba in 2016.
The South Sudanese government has been ordered to pay compensation to the victims. The court ruled that the government pays $4,000 to each rape victim.
The government will also have to pay 51 head of cattle to the relatives of the journalist killed in the raid.
The attack which took place at the Terrain Hotel in 2016 war was one of the worst on foreign aid workers since the civil war started in 2013.
The hotel owner will also receive compensation for the destruction and looting of his property.
A soldier who was part of the initial eleven that went on trial was set free due to the lack of charges against him.
The civil war did allow government troops and rebels to commit many atrocities. There have been calls for probe and punishment for offending soldiers and rebels.
The latest ruling could be seen as a major test for the South Sudanese government’s commitment to Justice.
The warring parties in South Sudan recently agreed to sign a peace deal aimed at ending the country’s civil war.
Source: Africafeeds.com
