A ram in South Sudan has been sentenced to three years in jail after being found guilty of murder.
According to Eye Radio, the ram was taken into police custody after killing 45-year-old Adhieu Chaping.
In the incident that happened in Akuel Yol in Rumbek East, the sheep is said to have head butted the woman repeatedly breaking her ribs.
The deceased woman died on the spot due to injuries inflicted on her by the animal.
Following the incident, the ram was arrested and locked up at a police station in Maleng Agok Payam.
In his ruling, Major Elijah Mabor argued that the ram should be held accountable for the woman’s death.
“The owner is innocent, and the ram is the one who perpetrated the crime, so it deserves to be arrested, and later on the case shall be forwarded to a customary court where the case can be handed over amicably,” he said.
Following the ruling, the ram will spend the next three years in a military camp in Sudan’s Aduel County.
The owner of the ram, Duony Manyang Dhal, was directed to hand over five cows to the victim’s family.
According to NDTV, Dhal is also most likely to lose the ram at the end of its sentence since customary laws state that any domestic animal that kills a person is then given as compensation to the victim’s family.
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Both families signed the contract to formalise the agreement, with the police and community leaders acting as witnesses.
This is the first of such cases from South Sudan.
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