The head of South Sudan’s SPLA Division 6 is under investigation for missing funds within his division along with several other high-ranking officers, according to a military administrative source.
The source linked the investigation to the strike of SPLA soldiers in Rumbek last week after they failed to receive their salaries, saying a committed headed by SPLA Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations James Ajonga Mawut has been formed to investigate the issue.
According to the source, several officers within the command of Division 6 are under investigation in relation to the delayed payment of salaries, including Division Commander Major-General Johnson Juma Akot, Major Juma Deng (Military Intelligence), Brigadier General Manyuat Ruei (Division 6 Head of Logistics) and John Malith (Division 6 Head of Administration).
Rumbek, where the protest over the missing salaries occurred, falls under Division 6 but units from different divisions had also been sent to the area to help control communal fighting.
Under normal circumstances, the other units in the area would need to be paid from their own divisional headquarters, but reportedly the SPLA general headquarters decided that in order to avoid inconveniences they should be paid together with soldiers from Division 6.
The investigation committee was formed last week after the strike. It is mandated to find out what happened and why. The source stressed that the division had received enough money for salaries from the general headquarters but nonetheless failed to pay the affected soldiers.
Correction: This article wrongly identified the head of the investigative committee as Gen. Mabior Lual. The mistake has been corrected to identify the head of committee as Gen. James Ajonga Mawut.