The traditional court in Bentiu internally displaced persons camp (IDPs) has hiked fines for males who impregnate teenage girls from 350,000 to 700,000 South Sudanese Pounds.
Manyrop Nhial, a member of the traditional court, said the increment was due to the fluctuating value of the South Sudanese Pounds against the U.S dollar in the local market.
“We have decided to increase fines for teenage pregnancies because of economic crises,” Nhial told The Juba Echo on Wednesday.
He added that the fines pregnant are deterrence following rising cases of teenage pregnancies.
Unity state traditional chiefs initially relied on local community laws known as Pangak to manage community cases.
“For us here in our local court a pregnancy case is charged with three cows and option two is to pay 350,000 South Sudanese Pounds in case the parents of the pregnant girl do not want cows, but I don’t know why Bentiu IDP camp community court increased the pregnancy fines case, we are still using Pangak laws,” chief Char Tut Nger, the paramount chief of Bentiu community court.
