According to authorities in Rumbek East County, South Sudan, a sheep was sentenced to three years in prison for attacking and killing a woman.
Police identified the 40-year-old woman as Adhieu Chaping. They said the ram repeatedly headbutted her several times, breaking her ribs, and later causing her to die from her injuries.
The animal was taken into custody and charged with the crime of murder. According to Lakes State police spokesperson Mabor Makuac, it will now spend the next three years of its life in a military camp in Aduel County headquarters in Lakes State.
Unilad reported that Makuac said, “Our role as police is to provide safety and separate fights. The ram was apprehended and currently under custody at a police station of Maleng Agok Payam. The owner is innocent and the ram is the one who perpetrated the crime so it deserves to be arrested then later on the case shall be forwarded to customary court where the case can be handed amicably.”
The ram’s owner Duony Manyang Dhal, will also be expected to pay something called “blood compensation,” which is an interesting law in South Sudan, a country located in central Africa.
Authorities said he was ordered to give up five of his own cows to the victim’s family. As far as the killer ram goes, they say the owner will most likely lose the ram at the end of its sentence.
The law of the land states that any domestic animal that kills a person must be given to the victim’s family as a form of compensation.