A judge of South Sudan's Supreme Court resigned on Tuesday, saying a lack of independence from the executive had turned the judiciary into a "mockery" and complaining of poor working conditions. South Sudan, the world's youngest country, descended into civil war in 2013 after President Salva Kiir fired his deputy, unleashing a conflict that has spawned a patchwork of armed factions. "The independence of the judiciary, in the Republic of South Sudan, has become a mockery," Kukurlopita Marino Pitia, a Supreme Court judge, said in his resignation letter. The conflict in South Sudan has slashed oil revenues and paralysed agriculture, spurring hyperinflation that has rendered many civil servants' salaries almost worthless. Kiir's spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny told UN radio in South Sudan that Malong was free to go to any country for medical treatment "on grounds of humanity".

Source: The Star November 14, 2017 16:07 UTC