Northern Bahr el Ghazal politicians warned against politicizing war against corruption

JUBA – A South Sudan activist has warned leaders in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state against politicizing fight against corruption, saying politicians risk deviating from the battle against rampant corruption in government institution.

This comes after the Chairperson of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State Anti-Corruption Commission Anei Rok Akuei was arrested on orders of Governor Tong Akeen Ngor who said that he has been defamed in a statement in which Mr. Anei exposed what he calls ‘rampant corruption’ overseen by the governor.

In a statement a copy of which was extended to Sudans Post, Anei who is also a senior member of the main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) in Northern Bahr el Ghazal accused Governor Akeen of using state resources including state vehicles for personal activities.

He claimed that “cars belonging to the government are being given out randomly to people who are not in the government leaving state officials walking on feet which shown that the system is corrupted and indicated that the state government given out the cars without approval or procedures from the council of ministers and all constitutional post holders they are not well paid.”

Speaking to Sudans Post following Mr. Anei’s arrest on Tuesday, the Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) Edmund Yakani urged leaders in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State to find a common ground on how to fight corruption and warned against politicization of the anti-corruption war.

“CEPO is appealing to the political leadership in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state to engage in a transparent fight against corruption. We hope this new development around the arrest of the anti-corruption state commission chairperson is not politically motivated and fighting corruption in a politicized manner is bad and a misleading approach,” he told Sudans Post on Tuesday.

“The political leadership of Northern Bahr el Ghazal should use an honest and transparent approach for fighting corruption. The struggle for transparency and accountability should not be tackled in a political manner, but should be tackled in legal and transparent way free from political games,” Yakani stressed.

He said “Political games around fighting corruption are totally unacceptable and a tactic of sustaining corruption. So, we are calling for the political leadership of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State to take genuine steps in fighting corruption. Corrupt acts can amount to crimes against humanity.

“CEPO is urging the political leadership in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state to abstain from politicizing the fighting against corruption and to allow due legal processes to take place for upholding of transparency and accountability. The arrest of the state anti-corruption commission chairperson should be in a legal manner.”