Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The Court of Appeal in Juba has reversed the death sentence previously imposed on Bobby Longar Akoki, a national security officer convicted of killing his wife and another man in June 2022.
The appellate court has ordered the case to be returned to the High Court for a fresh assessment of the appropriate sentence.
The incident took place at Beduoon Restaurant in Juba in June 2022. According to court records, Longar shot and killed his wife, Rebecca Anyon, and a second man he suspected of engaging in an affair with her.
A friend who attempted to stop the confrontation was also injured.
Following the incident, the High Court tried and convicted Longar under Section 206 of the Penal Code Act 2008, which deals with murder.
On 23 December 2022, High Court Judge Subek delivered the sentence, stating Bobby Longar Akoki, you are sentenced to death by hanging for violating Section 206 of the South Sudan Penal Code 2008.
The file is submitted to the Supreme Court in accordance with Article 258 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for confirmation.
The following year, on 23 December 2023, the High Court issued its final ruling and recommended that the authorities consider amending the penalty from death to life imprisonment, in line with evolving sentencing practices and human rights considerations.
Longar’s legal teams Kiirdit & Co. Advocates and George Angier Ring & Partners filed an appeal challenging the findings of the trial court.
In their appeal, the defense raised several critical points, arguing that the High Court committed errors in both law and fact.
The defense argued that the trial court wrongly dismissed Longar’s claim that he acted under cumulative provocation a legal doctrine recognizing that prolonged emotional or psychological distress may impact a person’s behaviour during a confrontation.
According to counsel, the accused should have benefited from this consideration, which could reduce the severity of the offense.
The defense insisted that the court failed to properly consider the accused’s claim of acting in lawful defense after allegedly finding his wife in a compromising situation.
They argued that this omission contributed to what they described as an erroneous conviction. Another major argument centred on the High Court’s interpretation of Section 206.
The defense stated that the trial judge erred when recognizing the family of the deceased, Rebecca Anyon, as the rightful guardians of the couple’s minor children.
They argued that this decision ignored Dinka customary law, which would ordinarily allow the husband’s family to play a key role in the guardianship arrangement.
The defense further argued that the court did not adequately consider the difficult circumstances under which the incident occurred.
According to counsel, such circumstances including emotional distress and the dynamics of the confrontation should have had a substantial
Given these submissions, the defense asked the Court of Appeal to set aside both the conviction and the death sentence and to issue an order that reflected the alleged legal errors and mitigating factors.
On 4 November 2025, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal Justice Samia Salah Abdullah, Justice Aban Atong Anwar, and Justice John Yel Alieu delivered their judgment.
After reviewing the grounds of appeal, the judges unanimously agreed to quash the death sentence and substitute a conviction under Section 210 of the Penal Code Act 2008, which deals with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Section 210 carries a significantly lesser penalty compared to the mandatory death sentence under Section 206.
The appellate judges ruled that the High Court failed to properly evaluate key defense arguments, including provocation and mitigating factors, which could affect both the classification of the offense and the severity of punishment.
As a result, the Court of Appeal referred the case back to the High Court with instructions to reassess the appropriate sentence under the newly substituted conviction.
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