04/12/2025
Lawyer Adhet beaten at Juba Police Station over forced marriage case
A popular lawyer, Josephine Adhet Deng, says she was beaten inside a Juba police station on Wednesday by men she claims were sent by a former Warrap State governor, Gen. Manhiem Bol Malek, over a long-running forced marriage case involving a teenage girl.
According to Radio Tamazuj’s reports, Adhet said she had gone to the Northern Division Police Station to respond to accusations of kidnapping the girl, who is under the protection of the Ministry of Gender and Social Welfare. She said after giving her statement, about eight men attacked her at the station gate in the presence of police officers. She later sought medical treatment and opened a separate assault case.
The case began in 2022 when the girl, then 14, fled an arranged marriage and sought help to continue her education. An agreement was reached allowing her to study and placing her under Adhet’s guardianship. However, in 2025, the family allegedly renewed pressure to marry her off in exchange for cattle and a car.
In November, Adhet claims the girl was forcibly removed from her school and later taken from a police station by her uncles. The girl later escaped again and reported to the Ministry of Gender, which confirmed it is handling the case.
An uncle of the girl, MP Jok Dut Malek, denied knowledge of the marriage case. Gen. Manhiem Bol Malek could not be reached for comment.
South Sudan’s constitution guarantees free consent in marriage, but enforcement remains weak. Adhet says she will continue defending the girl’s right to education despite threats and violence.