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JUBA - 19 Mar 2018

Kiir appoints official acquitted in theft case as oil ministry undersecretary

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir on Monday evening issued a decree appointing Mayen Wol Jong as the new undersecretary of the ministry of petroleum after sacking Mohamed Lino.

In November 2017, Mayen Wol was among six of 16 people acquitted by South Sudan’s High Court after being convicted for stealing millions of dollars from the Office of the President.

Wol, a close ally of Kiir and former chief administrator in the office of the president, was among the individuals previously accused of playing a role in the loss of more than $14 million and 30 million South Sudanese Pounds in Kiir’s office.

In another decree, Kiir appointed Biel Jok Thiik as the new undersecretary of the ministry of finance, replacing Agak Achuil Lual.

He also appointed Agak Achuil Lual as the new undersecretary of the ministry of trade and industry.

The presidential decrees came into effect as of March 19.

Last week, Kiir sacked his finance minister Stephen Dhieu Dau amid rising inflation and a broke government ravaged by the ongoing civil war. Mr. Dau was replaced by Salvatore Garang Mabiordit Wol as the new minister of finance.

 The Sentry, a group co-founded by actor George Clooney, accused South Sudan’s government in a recent report of funneling cash from the state-owned oil company Nilepet to militias accused of committing atrocities.