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In a telephone interview with CNN, based in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, Ruben Kok Alat refused to confirm the age of the bride – she would be 16 or 17 – but it was about 39, a "marriage like any other".
Addressing CNN, Kok Alat did not discuss the size of the dowry and said the media commented on the terms of the wedding decided through an "auction" were "wrong".
"I am personally disappointed and many people who know how our tradition works are the most disappointed," he said. "There is no human being who can auction another human, South Sudan is a country with a high level of human rights."
"It's just a marriage like any other marriage, and I do not know why it has become more special than other traditional marriages, which are done before and will be repeated," he said. he declares.
Concern about social media
The practice of dowry bargaining is traditional in Dinka culture and in much of East Africa and beyond.
According to the International Children's Rights International Plan International, the bride was "married to the successful bidder" at a ceremony that took place on November 3 in the Lakes section of the United States. East of the country. Five men, some of whom are believed to have been high-ranking officials of the South Sudanese government, participated in the "auction," Plan International said.
Plan International stated that it first learned about the marriage via Voice of America, but then confirmed the details through its local staff.
Activists are concerned that this practice could encourage other families to use social media sites to receive larger payments.
"In South Sudan, Facebook and social media is a novelty, a person just took a picture, and all this became viral," said human rights lawyer Ngong.
The wedding took place on November 3, according to Suzy Natana, of the National Alliance of South Sudan Women Lawyers, citing the residents with whom the badociation has been keeping up.
Facebook has been criticized for articles dealing with the highest bidder's bride price, as well as the number of users Facebook would propose for her.
Although Facebook said a post had been abolished on November 9, articles on dowry were still online on Friday, November 23.
Facebook said in a statement to CNN that any form of "human trafficking – that it's about publications, pages, ads or groups is not allowed on Facebook".
"We removed the post and permanently disabled the account belonging to the person who posted it on Facebook," said a spokesman for the company in a statement.
The man who won the auction for the teenager, businessman Kok Alat, did not discover the girl through Facebook, Ngong said.
But the girl's marriage is still so blatant, said Ngong, especially as a state government official would be among the candidates. Ngong said that it was a direct violation of the laws on child marriage by power: "Anything that happens that would not be in the best interests of the Child is a violation and the constitution and laws on children are very clear about it. "
The Constitution of South Sudan stipulates that marriage requires the "free and full consent" of those who intend to marry. A child is defined as a person under the age of 18, according to the 2008 Children's Act, which adds that "every child has the right to be protected from early marriages".
Journalist Farai Sevenzo from Nairobi Kenya and Ralph Ellis from CNN wrote the story in Atlanta. Bianca Britton and Anna Cardovillis of CNN contributed to this report.
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