Politicians on both sides in Northern Bahr al Ghazal point to corruption at the heart of the political crisis in the state; they simply disagree about who is responsible, with some claiming the impeached governor committed acts of corruption while others say he actually provoked the crisis by closing graft schemes, angering corrupt officials.
The crisis pits supporters of the impeached Caretaker Governor Kuel Aguer against supporters of the SPLM State Chairman Paul Malong, who is also ex-governor and currently SPLA chief-of-staff.
MP Archangelo Maduok Aro says the crisis emerged after the governor cracked down on corruption, preventing government officials who like to embezzle funds from doing so.
The state lawmaker, who was briefly arrested last week on orders of one of Malong’s allies in the state, Police Commissioner Akot Deng, says that Kuel had been closing down corruption doors since he took office. He explained that some officials had learned how to embezzle public funds but when Kuel came he started closing these doors.
“Then they took that money, they go and build some houses, they go and buy beer, but now it is difficult for them. That is why they are now opposing the government, because they have seen they are not going to grab some money, they are not going to [have] the corruption like they did it before,” said Archangelo.
He added, “That is the reason why they are opposing the current government — and they are in the government, they are in the system actually. That is the issue.”
On the other side, MPs who voted to impeach Kuel Aguer listed several corruption charges against him in their impeachment resolution. They said he illegally borrowed money from the state and issued letters of credit to a company run by his son. These charges were denied by Kuel in an interview with Radio Tamazuj last month.
In another development, the governor’s supporters last month released documents accusing the former county commissioners — Paul Malong’s appointees — of failing to remit taxes to the state treasury.
MP Archangelo alleges also that parliamentarians who voted to impeach Kuel were bribed to do so and he reiterated the accusation of Kuel’s cabinet members that the Police Commissioner Akot Deng Akot last week tried to overthrow the state government but was stopped by the SPLA Division 3.
“They really mobilize MPs in the parliament. Even the time they make the impeachment there are some MPs who have been given cheques so they can sign. Some of our MPs actually they have been bribed by the money,” he claimed.
Another state legislator dismissed this claim as nonsense, demanding that Kuel step aside following the successful impeachment resolution.
Achak Thiep Thiep, chairman of the parliament information committee said, “There is a saying that our assembly has been bribed to impeach our former caretaker governor of Northern Bahr al Ghazal, which is not true. Assembly has not been bribed.”
“We are representing thousands of people behind us. There is no any bribe. Me, I’m the motion mover. I’m still dealing with the situation that we have. I’m here, responsible with my choice and my idea that I’m representing people with. So there is not any bribe; if it is there, I didn’t see that,” he said.
Both sides voiced accusations during an investigation visit by a national parliamentary committee headed by a prominent SPLM (Juba faction) member, which wrapped up its visit to Aweil last week.
Achack said, “When the committee came in for investigations, Honorable Akol Diing and the cabinet were [giving] all lies,” he said, referring to claims by Kuel’s supporters that the impeachment was procedurally incorrect.
Kuel himself remains in Juba and has not returned to Aweil since soon after he was told he was stripped of his SPLM party membership after a meeting chaired by Gen. Paul Malong early this year. The latter has also not been reported in Aweil since early January.
The state cabinet appointed last year by Kuel remains in office, however, insisting it remains the legitimate government of the state. Last week one of the cabinet members claimed that Police Commissioner Akot Deng had fled the state capital after his failed power grab and demanded his arrest.
File photo: SPLM NBEG State Chairman Paul Malong