Chief jailed for speaking out against corruption in N. Bahr el Ghazal ArticleComments (5). Email PrintSave --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
December 3, 2011 (JUBA) - An Ajuong paramount chief in Aweil East County, David Garang Malong Yor, was sentenced to four months in jail on Thursday by a court in Northern Bahr el Ghazal court for accusing the governor and other politicians of involvement in corruption. The Aweil court also sentenced Aweer Makou, who sided with the chief, to one month in prison for writing material against Kom Kom Geng, a member of South Sudan’s National Assembly in Juba and Paul Malong Awan Anei, the governor of state. The ruling fined Makou 200 South Sudanese Pounds ($75) and Chief Malong SSP 400 ($150). Eyewitnesses say the chief was charged after a verbal exchanges between him and the state governor. The chief is also charged with making a defamatory statement questioning reluctance of the state governor to provide funds for constituency development. However, Garang’s lawyer told Sudan Tribune that he would appeal against the ruling, saying the judgment was not compatible with the law. "Yes the court has passed a decision despite my reservations on the procedures. The accused did not appear in court. The decision was taken only in the presence of the person delegated by the accused to stand on their behalf", Barnaba Karet, a defence lawyer said Friday. Local officials say the cause of arrest was triggered by an open letter published by the chief requesting the intervention of the central government in alleged mismanagement of state funds. The letter accused Kom Kom Geng who is a national MP for Aweil East of stealing SSP 7,333 ($2,745) from the Constituency Development Fund. The chief also accused governor Malong of preventing him voicing his concerns and demands for accountability directly to the president and the National Legislative Assembly in Juba. Chief Malong said in an interview with Sudan Tribune in September that the bone of contention between him and the state authorities was the Constituency Development Funds (CDF) which he said had been misused by the Aweil East representative. "My life is in danger because the governor has threatened to remove me from my position because I am talking about accountability. That I am the one causing controversy about Community Development Fund because I have extensively held meetings and wrote letters to higher authorities including president in the government of South Sudan". He said the issue of the funds had put him and some of the youth groups in the area at loggerheads with the governor who he claimed wanted to distance himself from the allegations of corruption. The chief also said that four teachers had been arrested by state security over allegations that they were encouraging people to ask about what happened to the money which was released for the construction of a school in the area. He named Akol Geng, Akol Dut, Joseph Garang and Deng Mel as some of the people who have been arrested for complaining with him over the misuse of the funds, which are supposed to improve living conditions of the local people through provision of basic services.. The outspoken chief accused some local officials including Awet Kiir, Awet, Deng Yel, Akok Kuol, Akoon Diing Angok as well as other chiefs like Atak Wieu Atak and Akot Dut of collaborating with the governor and giving false and misleading reports because they were personally involved in embezzling the money. "I appeal on behalf of the greater Ajuong community to the central government especially the president Salva Kiir Mayardit to intervene because the issue is getting out of hand." "The state is collaborating with the accused", he said in September. Since South Sudan achieved self governance in 2005 no official has been prosecuted for corruption, despite it being widely acknowledged that graft is crippling the country’s ability to recover from decades of conflict. When president Kiir addressed the United Nations General Assembly as South Sudan’s first head of state, promises to fight corruption featured prominently is his speech. The head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and donor countries have all said the new nation must clean up its act and address the issue. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob?hl=en.
