In 2006, a South Sudanese man named Charles Tombe was forced to "marry" a
goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...
with which he was caught engaging in
sexual activity
Human sexual activity, human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone (e.g., masturbation) ...
, in the Hai Malakal suburb of
Juba
Juba () is the capital and largest city of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and also serves as the capital of the Central Equatoria State. It is the world's newest capital city to be elevated as such, and had a population ...
, at the time part of
Sudan.
[ The owner of the goat subdued the perpetrator and asked village elders to consider the matter. One elder noted that he and the other elders found the perpetrator, tied up by the owner, at the door of the goat shed.]["Goat, married to man, dies after having first kid in South Sudan"]
by Mogga Mark, '' Juba Post'', 5 May 2007 (hosted by '' Sudan Tribune''), accessed 2008-06-01 The goat's owner reported that, "They said I should not take him to the police, but rather let him pay a dowry for my goat because he used it as his wife." The perpetrator was thus ordered to "marry" the goat, pay the cost of the goat and pay a dowry
A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment ...
of SD 15,000 (equating to US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
50 in 2006, the GDP per capita was US$1,522 for 2008), with half of the dowry up front.["Man forced to marry goat in southern Sudan"]
, ''Juba Post'', 25 February 2006 (hosted by ''Sudan Tribune''), accessed 2008-06-01 The goat apparently acquired the name "Rose" during the elders' deliberations as part of a joke.[
On 3 May 2007, it was reported that the goat had died, having choked on a plastic bag. The goat was survived by a four-month-old male kid.][ In November 2013, the South Sudan Law Society called for a review of all South Sudan's laws to abolish bizarre or cruel practices under customary law, such as "a man being forced to marry a goat called "Rose" after deflowering her."
]
Press attention
The story, first published on 24 February 2006 on the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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...
website, attracted massive attention and was republished on numerous newspapers, blogs and other websites.
Even a year after publication, the story was consistently among the BBC's 10 most emailed articles, with many visitors to the BBC news site passing the tale on to friends. The story received over 100,000 hits on five successive days long after its original publication, and was read by millions of people. The BBC, astonished at this popularity, wondered if there was a campaign to keep the tale at the top of its rankings; however, an investigation by its senior software engineer, Gareth Owen, determined that the demand was genuine.
The BBC honoured the goat with a mock obituary when it died in 2007. The death was also reported in many other news outlets, including ''
.