Mading & Co. Advocates

22/08/2024

"Dear youth, always try to see things from a solutions-driven perspective rather than a money-driven perspective. Africa is a home we share. Let us aspire to build it. Putting money first – the prevailing universal paradigm will not build this continent."

- Dr. Richard Munang

08/08/2024

'If you resist change, you resist life.'

_Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.

02/07/2024

'The moment we no longer have a free press, anything can happen. What makes it possible for a totalitarian or any other dictatorship to rule is that people are not informed; how can you have an opinion if you are not informed? if everybody always lies to you, the consequence is not that you believe the lies, but rather that nobody believes anything any longer. This is because lies, by their very nature, have to be changed, and a lying government has constantly to rewrite its own history. On the receiving end, you get not only one lie_ a lie which you could go on for the rest of your days_ but you get a great number of lies, depending on how the political wind blows. And a people that no longer can believe anything cannot make up its mind. It is deprived not only of its capacity to act but also of its capacity to think and to judge. And with such a people you can then do what you please.'

__Hannah Arendt

28/05/2024

Good evening colleagues,

We need to secure institutional independence of the legal profession. This independence is crucial for legal practice and for advancing the rule of law. Tomorrow morning, we will go to the poll and vote for the new Bar leadership. It is evident that only one of the two candidates will prevail. I have read a few articles that suggest this election calls for greater decorum. Both sides' supporters must show necessary respect for their worthy competitors before, during, and after elections. In the 1997 Florida Appellate Practice, Hon. Steven D. Merryday recommended that "if the adversary engaged in deceit or duplicity, the lawyer should describe the facts and the consequences and permit the judges to apprehend the mischief independently." Similarly, it is appropriate to politely and without throwing epithets to draw attention to a bar presidential candidate whose prior actions have severely undermined his ability to support reforms and the rule of law. I believe most advocates decided last Sunday whom they would vote for in this 2024 bar election. And I am one of them. Have a blessed night.

Mading Gum

22/05/2024

There is a thing about the judiciary and the South Sudan Bar Association (SSBA). But we will come to the Judiciary when the time is right. Now let's talk about SSBA.

Members of the SSBA will elect new Bar leadership on May 29, 2024. But what is truly at stake (for members of the noble profession) in the 2024 SSBA elections?

In the 2024 SSBA elections, what truly matters is not who eventually wins between Arop & Reech, but the unity and legitimacy of the Bar. Reforms and welfare initiatives are only realizable under a unified and legitimate bar.

By considering the SSBA elections from this perspective, candidates and their supporters can potentially avoid the pitfalls that historically contributed to the formation of factions that tarnished the legal profession.

20/03/2024

The official explanation for extreme weather occurrences, including heatwaves, droughts, and flooding, is climate change. Due to intense heatwaves last week, the government of South Sudan decided to close schools until further orders. Over the next two weeks, temperatures are predicted to soar as high as 45 degrees Celsius. However, in spite of these climatic catastrophes, the government has continuously disregarded its obligation to establish a legislative framework for climate action (mitigation and adaptation). For instance, there is currently no climate legislation (or legislation relating to climate change) in South Sudan. Will the government finally pass climate-related laws as a result of recent heatwaves?

18/12/2023

"How our local communities perceive and understand climate change impacts necessitates the need to reshape our national conversation about climate change. For example, how do we help a cattle herder in the remotest parts of Rumbek North County understand that the prolonged drought or intense flooding in their area is a result of climate change and that we (all of us including rural communities) have to figure out (with international support) how to survive under the new climate regime?"

Madinggum Reshaping the Conversation about Climate Change in South Sudan Mading Gum December 18, 2023 0 It is imperative that South Sudanese communities make the connection between climate change and catastrophic weather events rather than superstitions. The creation and application of climate-adapt...

04/12/2023

Here is my blog piece on the role of gov't in ensuring recent graduates find jobs and innovate. Recent university graduates globally struggle to find jobs, raising concerns about whether the old-age assumption of associating a university degree with high earnings and success still holds. While universities have the primary responsibility to ensure students are competent enough to compete and innovate, the role of government in enhancing access to jobs and creating an enabling environment that promotes entrepreneurship and small business development cannot be underestimated. Follow the link below for more on this.

Madinggum The Role of Government in Enhancing Access to Jobs for Recent University Graduates in South Sudan Mading Gum December 4, 2023 0 Government needs to develop a responsive governance infrastructure and create an enabling environment that promotes entrepreneurship and small business developmen...

29/04/2021

Americans have historically held the judicial branch of government in the highest regard because of its perceived aloofness from politics. Unfortunately, the perceptions of the Supreme Court are changing. Dean Erwin Chemerinsky of Berkeley Law School characterized justices on recent courts as politicians in fine robes, who simply reflect the views of the president who appointed them.
__ Clifford Winston

Americans have historically held the judicial branch of government in highest regard because of its perceived aloofness from politics. Unfortunately,

25/03/2021

To all activists:

Always know your limits. If you are a member of organized forces, don't engage in overt activism. And also avoid the dramas of civil associations. You are the soft target. The constitution doesn't give you the same freedom as any other free citizen. Your mother unit can easily invoke internal rules and regulations to punish and restrict your activities. Even other free activists will find it hard to come to your aid. Beware of your limits.

22/03/2021

"While Mark Jensen’s appeal was pending, the Supreme Court ruled in 2008 in Giles v. California that the forfeiture-by-wrongdoing doctrine applies only when the defendant caused a witness’s unavailability with the specific intent of preventing the witness from testifying. Federal courts vacated Jensen’s conviction."

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that a dead woman’s earlier warnings that her husband may kill her can’t be used as evidence in his retrial for murder.

18/03/2021

Here is the law on legal aid_in South Sudan.

Every accused person has a right to legal aid. In other words, any accused person before any court has a right to be defended by a lawyer appointed/provided by the state. In serious offenses, and if the accused is indigent to afford a lawyer, he/she has a right to be provided with an advocate by the state _s.184 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, 2008.

However, this right is not automatic. There are three criteria for granting it.

First, the accused has to satisfy the court of his/her indigency. In Awad Alla Al-Abass v Sudan Government (2011), Abdalmajed Al- Khadir ruled that "the right of an accused to be defended by a lawyer (legal aid) is contingent upon the accused being indigent and even then it depends upon his request." If this is partially satisfied, the state may require the accused to pay all or part of the cost.

Two, the accused has to apply to the Minister of Justice to provide him/her a lawyer. In Rahmetalla Adam Medani v Yagoup Musa Ibrahim and Sudan Government (2003), the constitutional court stated that "the right of the accused to be defended by a lawyer and his right to request the attorney general to have a lawyer appointed in case of indigence does not impose a mandatory obligation on the state but it is a right of the accused to demand legal aid."

Third, it must be in the interest of justice. Being indigent is one step. And submitting an application to the minister is another important step. But the applicant must show a failure to grant him legal aid would result in a miscarriage of justice. In other words, the applicant should demonstrate that providing legal aid also serves the interest of justice. This is tricky because a series of factors will be considered. One of the factors is the seriousness of the offense committed. In minor offenses, the state is unlikely to grant legal aid. Another factor is the public interest_ factors like whether it is fair and reasonable to provide legal aid in a particular case.

So, legal aid depends on the accused person's inability to afford a lawyer in a criminal case, the accused person submitting a request for a lawyer, and the accused person demonstrating it in the application that justice requires the state to provide legal aid.