A sad statement: “Corrupt officials are condoned for the fear of rebellion against Kiir.”

The announcement comes only days after President Salva Kiir accused several of his former top officials of siphoning off the country’s riches.

When asked why individuals accused of corruption are not punished, President Kiir’s press secretary said the president is concerned that if those involved in the corruption issue are prosecuted, they would take up weapons against the government.

Kiir claims that the anonymous officials have created personal bank accounts outside the nation and have erected skyscrapers and lavish apartment complexes using state funds.

Kiir also announced over the weekend that he removed the Minister of Finance for failing to disclose the amount of money in the state coffers.

Some members of the public and activists often claim that officials suspected of corruption are not arrested, charged, or prosecuted.

This, they claim, encourages officials to continue embezzling the country’s wealth without being held responsible.

“There are those that wasted money and when you ask, they would rebel, and South Sudan is dealing with the revitalized peace agreement on how to achieve a durable peace and the constitution,” Ateny Wek Ateny explained in an Eye Radio report seen by NCMP

“It is not solely the president’s obligation to take individuals to court.”

“The nation does not yet have a permanent constitution.” So, today, anybody may choose to go back to war if he is requested to repay public funds.”

The Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan determined in its most recent report that South Sudan’s authorities are weakening human rights and risking security by diverting vast sums of money and other riches from the country’s public coffers and resources.

According to the Commission’s investigations over the last two years, over $73 million USD has been diverted since 2018, including about $39 million in transactions in less than two months.

The Commission observed that this sum is merely a fraction of the total amount plundered; as President Salva Kiir confessed in 2012, South Sudan’s governing elites siphoned more than $4 billion USD.

South Sudan was named the world’s third most corrupt country by Transparency International last year.

It ascribed the causes to a shaky democratic basis and the manipulation of undemocratic and populist leaders who take advantage of it.