Blighted hopes

For two years before starting Cece Primary School, I worked as a volunteer at an orphanage in Nimule.  I got to know, and became very attached to, quite a few of the children there.  Amongst these was Anzo.  When I knew him, Anzo was a bright young boy who was doing very well at primary school and was keen to work with livestock when he grew up.  Occasionally people gave him animals to care for, which he did very carefully.  I particularly remember the time when he was given some rabbits, which quickly became a large number of rabbits.  I was reminded of a certain episode of Father Ted.  He built housing for them out of bricks and mud and did his best to look after them properly.  He had no adult assistance and within a few months they all caught some disease and died.

In 2016 the orphanage moved to Uganda due to the spread of the civil war in the direction of Nimule and I lost contact until recently.  Anzo came back to Nimule at 18 years old, having been discharged from the orphanage, but I did not see him.  He had finished his secondary education with a decent grade (75%) majoring in science but had no skills training or possibilities for further study.  He is now 20 years old.

Unfortunately, coming out of an orphanage, he had no experience of life outside an institution.  It is common in both the UK and South Sudan for young people released from ‘care’ to have no idea how to manage their lives.  They can end up on the streets quite easily.  Similarly, in South Sudan many end up as drunkards and even thieves.  Several of the girls from the same orphanage have very quickly become pregnant.

Anzo found work at a local betting establishment and earned enough to pay for rented accommodation.  As he was working at a betting shop, he learnt to gamble.  He made the very big mistake of using some of his employers’ money in the hope that he would make enough to pay for further education for himself.  He lost heavily and was sent to prison for non-payment of debts to his employer.  This was the second time; he had received a caution the first time.  The amount he has lost comes to around $1,000, a huge amount by any standards.  By the time I heard about what had happened, he had been in prison for over a month with no court date set.  His former employer is determined to get the full amount back from him, but this was unrealistic with Anzo languishing in prison with no possibility of working. 

In the UK, homeless people often purposefully commit petty crimes in order to sleep in a police cell, get a few square meals and a break from the streets.  I know this from talking to homeless people in London.  I worked for a short time at a Young Offenders Institute in London and saw the very impressive interventions to provide schooling and skills training, so that offenders could gain qualifications that they could use after leaving prison.  These experiences have influenced my outlook.

The prison in Nimule is a sharp contrast to the YOI where I had worked.  The prison building is a former food store, in which the only ventilation and light comes from just below the eaves, around twenty feet above ground level.  Prisoners are cooped up together inside most of the time.  They sleep crowded onto thin, single mattresses; if they are lucky they will be able to share a mosquito net.  There is no rehabilitation and only one meal a day (the same every day) is provided.  Anzo’s only relatives did not visit him or respond to phone calls.

When I heard that Anzo was in prison, I went to visit him.  He was honest about the reason for his arrest.  Knowing that it is not legal in South Sudan to put somebody in prison without a speedy appearance in court, I found a lawyer and asked for legal advice.  Fortunately, the legal company is a Christian one, specializing in human rights cases, so I was not overcharged.  The advice was to apply for bail for him pending the court hearing.  The lawyer spoke to the prison officials who mentioned the previous caution but agreed that bail would be possible.  The lawyer then spoke to the former employer who also agreed, provided that the $1,000 debt was paid back over the course of five weeks.  This was not possible for me, and I did not feel that I could ask others to help because I couldn’t be completely sure that Anzo wouldn’t go straight back to gambling or even abscond.  I therefore refused, condemning Anzo to remain in prison for some time with a very uncertain outcome. 

The other thing I did was to contact a local pastor who has a very strong youth ministry.  We talked about the necessity of a complete reform of life if Anzo is to have a good life instead of going rapidly downhill.  At the time of my meeting with the pastor I did not yet know about the unrealistic bail demand.  We were envisaging Anzo being in immediate need of employment and accommodation.  We discussed the possibilities of skills training so that he could become self-supporting.  The pastor agreed to act as a father figure and mentor to him.  

Talking to Anzo later, he told me that when he gets the chance, he wants to study nutrition.  Afterwards, I did a bit of research and found out about a nutrition course run by Caritas Luxembourg.  It is a nine-month course in the state capital, Torit.  I also discovered that there are full scholarships available for this course, which can be agreed through Nimule Town Council’s Health Department.  I decided that if Anzo was released, I would see if I could help him to apply.  I was told that those who have done this nutrition course have all been employed immediately.  If Anzo is able to do this course, it will change his life completely.  The course will be moving to another town called Isoke, much further away, where construction work on boarding accommodation is taking place.  Caritas plans to move the course to Isoke and also to enhance the course from certificate-level to a diploma course.  So, if Anzo has to stay in prison longer, he might get a chance of a better course.  Every cloud has a silver lining!

I hoped that this period in prison, with regular visits, would be a time in which he could reflect and be supported to change his lifestyle.  I brought him books to keep him from going, literally, stir-crazy.

Part 2

A court date was finally set, six weeks after Anzo was initially arrested.  Experience told me that the reason for the announcement of the court date was because of my interest in the case (as a foreigner) and the involvement of a lawyer.  Otherwise, I am pretty certain that nothing would have happened and Anzo would have remained in prison indefinitely, without trial.

I attended court on Thursday 20^th October, but the complainant did not come.  Some of Anzo’s former orphanage friends came to support him, which was nice.  Because of the absence of the complainant the case was postponed to the next day, Friday.  This time the complainant attended.  He is only 25 years old and is the local manager, responsible to the company headquarters in Juba.  He said in his statement that his boss had told him that if the case went against them, he would come in person with his own lawyer.

The details of the case were handwritten and were read out in court.  Both the complainant and Anzo agreed that they were a true record.  The amount missing according to the documents was given as 646,039 SSP.  Our lawyer questioned the police about the charge – whether Anzo had been put under pressure.  They said no.  He also asked under what section Anzo had been charged and the police officer answered him.  The lawyer then asked the complainant for official documentation from the betting company showing proof of the missing money.  This was missing from the case file.  The complainant said that their business was completely transparent and that he could bring the record easily.  It was agreed that the case would come back to court in early November.  The lawyer then asked for bail for Anzo until the next court hearing, which was agreed.  This time the bail amount was far more reasonable, 10,000 SSP or around $17.  As I am not a South Sudanese national it was decided that I would pay but the Boma Chief (the government official responsible for centre of Nimule) would be jointly responsible.  I was very relieved about that.

Afterwards I was told by one of Anzo’s friends that the amount of Anzo’s debt was wrong.  He had previously seen documentation showing around 500,000 SSP.

When everything was over we all went back to the prison to fetch Anzo’s belongings and see him officially released.  When he came out with his belongings, all he had were a few books, which I had lent him, and his phone.  I asked where his clothes were and he said that he had given them all to his fellow prisoners, many of whom are short of clothing.  Luckily I had many tee-shirts, given to me at various times and totally surplus to my needs, so I have given them to him.  In my view, Anzo’s act of generosity shows his good character.  I made him promise that he would not abscond as it would make a lot of trouble for me, and he said he would certainly not do that.

Part 3

On the day of the trial, 3^rd November, I went to early morning Mass and asked the priest to include Anzo in the prayer of the Mass.  All my own prayer was devoted to him as well.

I arrived at court to find Anzo and two other young men already waiting.  They were all very friendly.  It took some time for me to realise that the other two young men were the complainant and a witness for the complainant!

The complainant came with the financial proof.  Our lawyer looked at the document, which was simply a printed screenshot taken by mobile phone with a handwritten note on it.  This, according to the lawyer, did not count as an official financial statement. 

When questioned, the witness turned out to be a colleague from a different branch of the same betting company.  He had not witnessed Anzo’s gambling, but had only heard about it at a staff meeting the following day, when Anzo was already in police custody.  The complainant explained that the morning after he had taken Anzo to the police station, he had called all his staff from both branches of the betting establishment together for a meeting.  He told them what had happened and warned them not to copy Anzo’s example.  Then he asked if they could all contribute something so that they could make up the amount and help Anzo to get out of prison.  Unfortunately the money was not forthcoming, but it was a kind thought.

The lawyer refused to accept the witness as he had not been present when Anzo was gambling.  The judge asked the complainant if there were any other possible witnesses and was told that there was another witness.  The case was adjourned for half an hour to allow time for the other witness to come.  This second witness was a colleague whose workstation was right next to Anzo’s.  She had noticed him gambling.  However, she was not able to say whether it was with his own money or how much money he had lost.  The lawyer refused to accept this witness statement.  The judge requested further witnesses to be brought next Monday for another hearing. 

I have been struck by the youth of all those involved in this case.  Anzo is 20 years old; all the rest, both friends and former colleagues, are also in their early twenties.  The complainant is the oldest at only 24 years old.  They are all friends, both on the defendant and complainant side, as evidenced by how friendly they all were before the case started and the attempt by the complainant to assist Anzo.  It seems that the complainant is in the awkward position of having to obey his manager at the headquarters in Juba, while his heart is in a very different place.

I asked Anzo how he has been spending his time.  He said that he has done nothing at all, just remaining at home.  I think he has found the whole experience very frightening.

Part 4

The final hearing is now over.  Another witness was produced by the complainant, but was completely unable to answer any questions.  The judge ruled that Anzo is guilty, which nobody has ever contested.  The sentence was either six months in prison (to include the month in which he was in prison previously) or a fine of 50,000 South Sudanese Pounds, which is nearly $100.  Then he still has to gradually repay the betting establishment the money which is owed.  It seemed to me pointless to send him back to prison, where he will be no nearer to paying his debt, so I decided to pay the fine for him. 

Anzo is now out of prison and needs to find well-paid work urgently.  One of his fellow orphans is now working as a building labourer and is doing well, so I have suggested to Anzo that he asks if he can join him.  I have strongly advised Anzo to start developing a savings habit, putting money away regularly so that he will be ready to start paying the money back.  There will be a further meeting to discuss the timings of repayment.

Some might question why I am helping Anzo when he is clearly guilty as charged.  He has claimed that he was innocent.  As mentioned, he is very young and without any guidance.  A job in a gambling establishment must have been a huge temptation to him. 

It seems very unjust to me that Anzo should be put in prison and expected to pay a huge sum which he has no means of finding without a very well-paid job.  It seems to have been an act of vengeance on the part of the betting company head office, rather than justice, which is very unchristian.

As a Christian I believe that Jesus came to call sinners, not the righteous.  There are countless examples in the Bible of God’s mercy.  I think of Jesus’s simple advice to the adulterous woman, “Go and sin no more.”  In my own life, I have been forgiven a great deal, and find it incredible the extent to which God has helped me straighten myself out.  I must help in order to pay God back for his mercy on me.

I have found out that the nutrition course sponsorship application time will be in March next year and confirmed that the course will be a diploma course.  I told the County Health Director the whole history of Anzo, and he is very positive about accepting him for the sponsorship.  He told me that there are also government scholarships in other aspects of health such as midwifery, nursing and laboratory technician courses, which was useful information.

This case has cost me a great deal more than I can afford financially, so I can’t make a habit of this type of intervention.  Please God, let it be a one-off.