Minister Awan Guol jails whistle-blower who disclosed the alleged graft scandal
3 min readBy Martin Mapuor Matueny, Perth, Australia
February 17, 2016 (SSB) —- Machar Matur Dal aka Machar Apande Benjamin, the officer in the office of the National security Minister has been jailed for revealing that Minister in president’s office, Awan Guol Riak has stolen a huge cash in US Dollars.
Some media outlets put the stolen amount up to a million USD. The officer is nephew of Marial Benjamin the current foreign minister in South Sudan. President’s office has already rebutted the alleged scandal.
The officer is being illegally kept in secret jail cell often operated by national security. According to South Sudan Anti- corruption law a whistle-blower is supposedly protected from retribution or arbitrary ill-treatment or arrest. This law was passed after South Sudan became the most fertile island for corruption.
Since its inception in 2005, corruption metastasized and over 6 billion USD of poverty-riddled public meant for development were siphoned off the country leaving largely poor populace surviving on meagre services provided by aid donors from the West.
Currently, there is ongoing exodus of South Sudanese to the neighbouring countries due to looming hunger. South Sudan state constantly says it has no monies to feed its starving populace.
Numerous attempts were made to curve the raging wild corruption in South Sudan including empowering citizens within public service sector a duty to timely reveal any corruption scandal. Anti-corruption Commission was also set up but the country kept drowning from the thriving cancerous phenomenon. Scandals keep culminating with no single big fish ever caught and produced in court by Anti-Corruption Commission.
The institution has long been viewed as a toothless Python which can never help the desperately yearning public for competent institution to stop the vice. There have been repeatedly sanctimonious talks of zero tolerance to graft from the government… But none has evidently yielded required results.
Instead whistle- blowers like Machar Matur often fall victims from the powerful gargantuan corrupt dinosaurs. No law can twist their long arms from excessively using lethal force to silence whistle-blowers and law enforcement, and judiciary officers.
Poor officer should have been produced in court of law within 24 hours as per the Constitution of South Sudan. But he has been denied this fundamental constitutional right. South Sudan Constitution has oftentimes been eviscerated at will.
Family members are pleading for the release of the incarcerated innocent young man–since he has not been charged and convicted of any criminal offence in court of law.
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