The government on Tuesday defended the appointments of two officials initially accused of corruption in the face of mounting concerns over their suitability for public office.

President Kiir on Monday appointed Mayen Wol Jong as the new undersecretary of the oil ministry and Agak Achuil Lual as the new undersecretary of the ministry of trade.

Wol, a 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. He was among six of the 16 people acquitted by South Sudan’s High Court after being convicted.

Agak Achuil was also suspended last month by the former minister of finance Stephen Dhieu for allegedly requesting over 300 million Pounds from the Central Bank in favor of a private company.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj today, South Sudan’s presidential spokesman Ateny Wek Atany rebuffed accusations of corruption and nepotism in the government.

“Mayen Wol was acquitted by the court after he was found innocent. People should accept the fact that Mayen Wol has been acquitted by the court,” he said.

“With respect to the appointment of Agak Achuil, he was just suspended for administrative reasons by the former finance minister Stephen Dhieu, but the issue was solved administratively. Actually there were differences between Agak and the former minister,” he added.

Ateny pointed out that the appointments made by President Kiir were normal.