South Sudan government officials threaten to take ‘Americans’ to court

JUBA – A number of South Sudan government officials is threatening to take the United States government to court for allegedly ordering the freezing of accounts of government officials in neighboring countries.

Last month, a Kenyan court banned Cabinet Minister Martin Elia Lomuro from accessing his Kenyan account with at least 400,000 dollars. Lomuro then denied any wrong saying unidentified members of the United States government were behind the account freeze.

In late September, a Kenyan court lifted the ban, triggering the organization of a party in Juba by Lomuro who celebrated his ‘victory’ against the United States government and speaking during the party, Warrap State governor Aleu Ayieng Aleu said the government in Juba will support the cabinet minister against Kenyan and American government.

“We are going to court Martin and we are telling you from today onwards, we need to open a case [against] who was behind this problem. If they are the Americans we want to go to court against the Americans and if it is the Kenyan government; we are going to court against the Kenyan government because tomorrow they will take Tutkew, they will take me and him,” said Aleu, according to City Review.

The governor further claimed that opposition officials who have rebelled against the government of President Salva Kiir Mayardit did so because they were against being accounted for money that he said they have allegedly stolen.

“I one time met with the Masaya Minister of interior Olonku I went to his office and he was telling me that he was given a mission to find out the accounts of South Sudanese who stay in Nairobi. [He told that] he found that the money [that] one of those people have can feed Nairobi for six months and he was arrested and up to now he is still there in Nairobi,” he alleged.

“That money is still in the banks of Kenya and there are so many of them and I know them,” he added.

For his part, the governor of South Sudan’s Central Equatoria state Emmanuel Adil Anthony claimed that Lomuro is a victim of money laundering and US sanctions because of his “fight for the interest of the government of South Sudan’’.

“Indeed it is this occasion that we are to send one message to the international community that as the people of South Sudan, we are peace-loving, one people who respect the rule of law but if you tamper with our interest sometimes we can show what we are,” Adil warned.

For her part, environment minister Josephine Napwon Cosmos said Martin Elia was targeted because he is the engine of the government.

“Not only because Martin is next to the president but it is also because Martin is the engine of the government the minister of cabinet affairs; it is not a joke,” Napwon stressed.

“I want to thank God for allowing us the people of South Sudan to win the case, this is [not] the problem of Martin, it is about us the people of South Sudan; it is about us the leaders of South Sudan being targeted,” she added.