The Chairperson of the Northern Bahr el Ghazal State Anti-Corruption Commission, Anei Rok Akuei, on Wednesday appeared before a court in Aweil town over an embezzlement report.
Rok, a member of South Sudan’s main opposition group, Sudan People’s Liberation Movement In-Opposition (SPLM-IO), was briefly detained on 18 September 2022 and later released, days after he filed a report on mismanagement and embezzlement of public funds.
According to him, the state government including Governor Tong Akeen Ngor was misusing public funds without providing services to the people.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj after Wednesday’s session, Morris Autiak, one of the prosecution attorneys, said the anti-corruption leader has a right to investigate every office bearer, but that he lacked evidence to support his claims.
“He (Rok) is the Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption Commission and the commission allows him to investigate anybody in South Sudan. But he did not investigate any person except he wrote on Facebook and said that the government of Northern Bahr el Ghazal stole huge funds. The minister of lands embezzled money, the state governor misused the collected amounts for the proposed Northern Bahr el Ghazal University and the ministry of finance misappropriates funds,” said Autiak.
He added that the anti-corruption leader faces a defamatory court case because he fed the public with unverified and unconfirmed reports on financial management in the state.
However, Rok, the accused, said he had sufficient evidence to substantiate his statements.
“Yes, I have evidence, and that is why I am going to the court. And if I don’t have evidence, I wouldn’t go to court,” said Rok.
According to him, mediation efforts are going on between the state government and his party, SPLM-IO, to resolve the impasse.
“Our party members and some people in the government of Northern Bahr el Ghazal are now discussing to solve the problem between me and the governor,” he commented.
The Executive Director for the Aweil Community-Based Organizations Forum (ACBOF), Santino Deng Ngong, said they were happy that the case has finally started and that an amicable solution will be reached.
“The case of the chairperson for the Anti-Corruption in the Northern Bahr el Ghazal has been a long-awaited case by the community and civil society to see the outcome. We are very sorry that the court was delayed, but we are happy now they (judges) resumed after a year,” Deng said.
The next court session is scheduled for 25th January 2023.
Some of the claims by the anti-corruption boss were that the monthly funds resulting from Personal Income Taxes (PIT) transferred from Juba to Aweil are SSP 2.2 Billion from local staff and USD 317, 000 from the staff of international humanitarian organizations. He also claimed that WFP pays USD 60,000 annually for renting stores in the state and that the state government collects another SSP 30 Million locally in revenues.
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