A legal representative for three youths from Warrap State is fighting defamation allegations made by General Education and Instruction Minister Awut Deng Acuil. The defense strongly refutes the accusations, arguing that the accused were simply exercising their right to question the ministry’s failure to conduct the Certificate of Primary Examination on time in Luacjang in August 2021.
Lead defense counsel, Kiir Chol Deng, emphasized that the government is a public institution and the accused were within their rights to seek clarification from the ministry. The defense maintains that the statements made by the accused were not false and there is no legal basis for the Education ministry to prosecute them.
Back in February 2021, Luanjang Community youths voiced concerns to President Salva Kiir about the Minister allegedly preventing Primary Eight pupils from certain areas in Tonj East County from taking their final exams due to security reasons. As a result, a lawsuit was filed by the Minister against Machiek Dongrin, Marcelo Deng Magon, and Tinjok Ruben Dhal in February 2022.