With the advent of February 2026, a lot of events have happened. The latest event is the sweeping crackdown on former government officials. On queries as to why the former government officials, who once held lucrative portfolios, are being detained, the answer is that they are being held accountable on matters related to their previous undertaking, especially on the matters of corruption.
This response portrayed a sense of good will on the side of President Salva Kiir Mayardit; perhaps it is an attempt to recalibrate the country, a possible gesture of good will on the path to good governance. To many South Sudanese, if these former government officials are being detained for reasons of accountability and not on a political witch-hunt, then it is a welcomed move.
However, the question of whether this accountability will selectively enforce or decisively target every wrongdoer, regardless of their background or political lineage, remains mind-boggling. Accountability is a lifeline. It is a noble phenomenon, one of the greatest pillars of good governance. Every functioning state, democratic or not, satisfies accountability. The government of South Sudan needs to enforce accountability to eliminate corruption.
Nations flourish due to accountability; without it, governance becomes ineffective, laws fail to hold value for citizens, and the country deteriorates while thieves prosper. The politicians and cartels in South Sudan have no remorse when they steal South Sudan’s wealth. When they are exposed to our resources, they act like goats and yams.
Our country has suffered for far too long due to a lack of accountability. President Salva Kiir himself has admitted that the country went to war because his colleagues, the government employees who have stolen national wealth, opted to fight him when he attempted to hold them accountable. He rightly accused officials of stealing over $4.5 billion dollars and has written letters to 75 government officials, asking them to return the money unaccounted for.
Many international monetary bodies have expressed dissatisfaction that corruption has persisted in South Sudan not because the country lacks the capacity to nip it in the bud, but because it is entrenched within the ruling elites, making the looting of the public funds systematic, and the arrests on matters of accountability were considered unsafe because they would implicate high-ranking government officials and close allies whose loyalty keeps the president in power. In other words, they expressed that there was a lack of will to prosecute the thieving government officials.
Since the time preceding independence, officials entrusted with the management of key economic and financial institutions, such as the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance, the National Revenue Authority, and related sectors like the Passport, Nationality, Immigration, and Customs departments, have opted to embezzle public funds at will, treating those funds as if they were their personal inheritance.
Every honest South Sudanese citizen agrees that the looting was systematic and continuous and has devastatingly deprived millions of ordinary citizens. It has drained the country’s coffers so much that, despite huge funding allocations including the Oil for Roads project, the country’s roads are still unpaved, and schools, hospitals, and food are scarce. Key development sectors have faltered or never kick-started because the necessary funds for their functioning have been personalized by those who could have put them to good use for the public good.
After a long period of no action despite public outrage, H.E. President Salva Kiir Mayardit has made up his mind and is now taking action against those responsible. The decision to pursue the thieves and recover the stolen public wealth is truly commendable and, in fact, judicious, whether made early or late. Therefore, every patriotic South Sudanese, whether locally based inside the country or residing overseas, must firmly support him.
We have seen officials relieved of their duties but never held accountable. Removing one from office does not equal accountability. Accountability has a prudential legal definition; it entails arrest, prosecution, trial, conviction, and the complete recovery of stolen wealth or assets.
The Republic of South Sudan’s local courts, plagued by underfunding and political interference, are unable to handle these matters independently. They are huge responsibilities. The country urgently needs to establish a competent and independent Economic and Financial Crimes Tribunal. This tribunal needs to be established under the authority and guidance of South Sudan’s judiciary. Of course, the establishment must be in accordance with the existing laws, including the Penal Code Act 2008, Anti-Corruption Act 2009, and Public Financial Management and Accountability Act 2011. We have beautiful laws, but the implementation is nonexistent or extremely weak.
Once established, this proposed tribunal must feature protected judges, independent prosecutors, and powerful forensic auditing capabilities. It should be a purely domestic institution that is established and owned by the South Sudanese legal fraternity. While independent, the president should guard it jealously to prevent interference, even from himself and other close state actors, to guarantee beneficial and untampered outcomes.
The jurisdiction of this tribunal ought to extend beyond the geographical borders of South Sudan due to the fact that a significant portion of our stolen wealth has been stashed overseas and is in foreign bank accounts, real estate, and offshore holdings.
As a country, we are lucky to have acceded on January 23, 2015, to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). What the country needs now is an urgent activation of international asset recovery mechanisms in accordance with this convention, and the stolen assets would be recovered quickly.
The country must also strengthen its bilateral legal cooperation with countries and jurisdictions that are holding our stolen funds and assets. To achieve this goal, the tribunal must establish a functioning international asset recovery unit that would be authorized to collaborate with foreign governments and financial institutions to trace, freeze, and repatriate the embezzled or misappropriated public wealth.
This said, President Kiir and his senior officials, law enforcement agencies, the tribunal, and all its accessory organs should then remain firm and vigilant. All over the world, suspects of embezzlement are notorious in multiple ways; they are going to employ every tactic at their disposal. Their tactics may include exceedingly high political pressure, tribal incitement, and entrenched legal fighting to evade, bend, or circumvent justice.
Their tactics should not overcome all the mechanisms in place. That would be shameful for the government. The government should also ensure that the crackdown is genuine and irreversible through political means. It should also not infringe on the rights of those suspected of graft.
The president and those executing this grand accountability purge have a good intention, but good intention alone cannot build an already broken country. The trust of the public can be fully regained through steady conviction and the recovery of public wealth in billions of dollars.
Till then, yours truly, Mr. Teetotaler!
The writer, Dr. Sunday de John, holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) from the University of Nairobi, Faculty of Business and Management Sciences and Faculty of Medicine, respectively. He is the current Chairman of the South Sudan United Front-Progressive and can be reached via drsundayalong4@gmail.com
The views expressed in ‘opinion’ articles published by Radio Tamazuj are solely those of the writer. The veracity of any claims made is the responsibility of the author, not Radio Tamazuj.