Plundering a Nation: Rampant Corruption in South Sudan
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John Ashworth
Sep 17, 2025, 12:36:18 AMSep 17
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1. South Sudan: UN inquiry’s report details how systemic government
corruption is fuelling an acute human rights crisis
16 September 2025
NAIROBI/GENEVA – Systemic government corruption and brazen predation
by South Sudan’s political elites have unleashed an immense human
rights crisis that must be urgently addressed, the UN Commission on
Human Rights in South Sudan said in its latest report issued today.
Titled “Plundering a Nation: How Rampant Corruption Unleashed a Human
Rights Crisis in South Sudan,” the report is based on two years of
independent investigations and analysis by the Commission. It
documents how oil and non-oil revenues are siphoned off through opaque
off-budget schemes and politically connected contracts while millions
of South Sudanese are denied basic services.
“Our report tells the story of the plundering of a nation: corruption
is not incidental, it is the engine of South Sudan’s decline,” said
Yasmin Sooka, Chairperson of the Commission. “It is driving hunger,
collapsing health systems, and causing preventable deaths, as well as
fuelling deadly armed conflict over resources. The suffering of South
Sudanese civilians is a direct consequence of the brazen plundering of
public revenues since independence in 2011.”
The Commission’s analysis of official data shows that the Government’s
oil inflows alone have exceeded $25.2 billion since 2011 – an enormous
sum in one of the world’s poorest countries. Yet systemic corruption
and diversion of both oil and non-oil revenues mean hardly any money
reaches essential services.
The education, public health, and justice systems are in crisis. Most
civil servants are underpaid or unpaid. International donors now spend
more on South Sudan’s basic services than the Government itself, and
the country ranks at the bottom of both the UN Human Development Index
and the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index.
“Instead of directing national wealth toward serving the population,
the country’s political leaders have systematically diverted both oil
and non-oil revenues, through corruption and unaccountable schemes
entrenched throughout government,” said Commissioner Barney Afako.
“South Sudan’s ability to manage economic constraints, absorb shocks,
and allocate resources to fulfil the human rights of citizens has been
significantly impeded by corruption. Moreover, fiscal and
accountability reforms envisaged under the Revitalized Peace Agreement
remain unimplemented, while impunity for corruption prevails.”
The 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in
the Republic of South Sudan establishes a transformative agenda to
improve public financial management. If implemented, this can enable
the Government to enhance its capacities to deliver on human rights.
But these and other reforms have not been properly implemented or
appropriately funded.
Instead, budget spending practices overwhelmingly favour political
elites. Between July 2020 and June 2024, the Ministry of Presidential
Affairs overspent its allocation by 584 per cent (nearly six times its
allocation, at $557 million). By contrast, the Ministry of Health
received just 19 per cent of its allocation (less than one fifth, at
$29 million), the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security received
only 7 per cent (less than one-tenth, at $11 million), and the
Ministry of Gender and Social Welfare just a mere $3.7 million across
four years.
“The diversions are not abstract budget failures – they translate into
preventable deaths, widespread malnutrition, and mass exclusion from
education,” said Commissioner Carlos Castresana Fernández.
“Three-quarters of child deaths are preventable — yet funds go to
patronage and private pockets, not medicine or clean water and
sanitation. Even as we speak, nepotism and kleptocracy in government
are further entrenching. South Sudan’s international partners must
make clear that this situation is unacceptable, cannot lead to peace,
will not address rights indispensable to the survival of the
population, and sabotages credible elections and the political
transition.”
The report highlights emblematic corruption schemes, including the
‘Oil for Roads’ programme, which funnelled an estimated $2.2 billion
off-budget into political patronage networks. The scheme implicates
Benjamin Bol Mel, appointed a Vice President of South Sudan in
February 2025, whose companies failed to deliver most of the promised
roads. It also details schemes by Crawford Capital Ltd in non-oil
revenue collections, where little of the taxes reach government
budgets, even as illegal levies on humanitarian actors obstruct
critical food aid operations.
The Revitalized Agreement is now at a breaking point. On 11 September
2025, the Government announced charges against First Vice President
Riek Machar, arbitrarily detained since March 2025. His opposition
party has since fractured, with many of its key leaders jailed or
exiled. Meanwhile, the President’s daughter, as well as Vice President
Bol Mel’s wife, have recently been elevated to senior government
positions. Amidst corruption and political upheaval, the prospects of
completing South Sudan’s transition, as envisaged by the Revitalized
Agreement, have significantly diminished.
“On the ground, we have seen the widespread deprivation and the
absence of basic infrastructure and services: direct outcomes of
corruption,” said Sooka. “South Sudan’s leaders must end the systemic
plunder and impunity. When public revenue becomes private fortune,
peace cannot hold. For the transition to survive, accountability for
economic crimes and an investment in human rights are indispensable.”
The Commission launched its report today at a press conference in
Nairobi, Kenya, fulfilling its Human Rights Council mandate to
investigate and report on human rights violations. The report
underscores that the devastating impacts of corruption are recognized
harms under international law, and by the African Union and the UN
Security Council. It highlights South Sudan’s legal duties under the
UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
which obligates South Sudan’s Government to allocate “maximum
available resources” to fulfill basic human rights.
The report sets out 54 recommendations to the Government of South
Sudan for ending impunity for corruption, strengthening accountability
and urgently prioritising the population’s basic needs in national
budgets and public spending processes.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/south-sudan-un-inquirys-report-details-how-systemic-government-corruption
END1
2. Attached please find the full report entitled "Plundering a Nation:
How Rampant Corruption Unleashed a Human Rights Crisis in South Sudan"
from the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, 16th September
2025.
https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/cohrsouthsudan/a-hrc-60-crp-5-low-file-size.pdf
END2
______________________
John Ashworth
ashwor...@gmail.com
+254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile, WhatsApp and Signal)
PO Box 403 - 00206, Kiserian, Kenya
corruption is fuelling an acute human rights crisis
16 September 2025
NAIROBI/GENEVA – Systemic government corruption and brazen predation
by South Sudan’s political elites have unleashed an immense human
rights crisis that must be urgently addressed, the UN Commission on
Human Rights in South Sudan said in its latest report issued today.
Titled “Plundering a Nation: How Rampant Corruption Unleashed a Human
Rights Crisis in South Sudan,” the report is based on two years of
independent investigations and analysis by the Commission. It
documents how oil and non-oil revenues are siphoned off through opaque
off-budget schemes and politically connected contracts while millions
of South Sudanese are denied basic services.
“Our report tells the story of the plundering of a nation: corruption
is not incidental, it is the engine of South Sudan’s decline,” said
Yasmin Sooka, Chairperson of the Commission. “It is driving hunger,
collapsing health systems, and causing preventable deaths, as well as
fuelling deadly armed conflict over resources. The suffering of South
Sudanese civilians is a direct consequence of the brazen plundering of
public revenues since independence in 2011.”
The Commission’s analysis of official data shows that the Government’s
oil inflows alone have exceeded $25.2 billion since 2011 – an enormous
sum in one of the world’s poorest countries. Yet systemic corruption
and diversion of both oil and non-oil revenues mean hardly any money
reaches essential services.
The education, public health, and justice systems are in crisis. Most
civil servants are underpaid or unpaid. International donors now spend
more on South Sudan’s basic services than the Government itself, and
the country ranks at the bottom of both the UN Human Development Index
and the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index.
“Instead of directing national wealth toward serving the population,
the country’s political leaders have systematically diverted both oil
and non-oil revenues, through corruption and unaccountable schemes
entrenched throughout government,” said Commissioner Barney Afako.
“South Sudan’s ability to manage economic constraints, absorb shocks,
and allocate resources to fulfil the human rights of citizens has been
significantly impeded by corruption. Moreover, fiscal and
accountability reforms envisaged under the Revitalized Peace Agreement
remain unimplemented, while impunity for corruption prevails.”
The 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in
the Republic of South Sudan establishes a transformative agenda to
improve public financial management. If implemented, this can enable
the Government to enhance its capacities to deliver on human rights.
But these and other reforms have not been properly implemented or
appropriately funded.
Instead, budget spending practices overwhelmingly favour political
elites. Between July 2020 and June 2024, the Ministry of Presidential
Affairs overspent its allocation by 584 per cent (nearly six times its
allocation, at $557 million). By contrast, the Ministry of Health
received just 19 per cent of its allocation (less than one fifth, at
$29 million), the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security received
only 7 per cent (less than one-tenth, at $11 million), and the
Ministry of Gender and Social Welfare just a mere $3.7 million across
four years.
“The diversions are not abstract budget failures – they translate into
preventable deaths, widespread malnutrition, and mass exclusion from
education,” said Commissioner Carlos Castresana Fernández.
“Three-quarters of child deaths are preventable — yet funds go to
patronage and private pockets, not medicine or clean water and
sanitation. Even as we speak, nepotism and kleptocracy in government
are further entrenching. South Sudan’s international partners must
make clear that this situation is unacceptable, cannot lead to peace,
will not address rights indispensable to the survival of the
population, and sabotages credible elections and the political
transition.”
The report highlights emblematic corruption schemes, including the
‘Oil for Roads’ programme, which funnelled an estimated $2.2 billion
off-budget into political patronage networks. The scheme implicates
Benjamin Bol Mel, appointed a Vice President of South Sudan in
February 2025, whose companies failed to deliver most of the promised
roads. It also details schemes by Crawford Capital Ltd in non-oil
revenue collections, where little of the taxes reach government
budgets, even as illegal levies on humanitarian actors obstruct
critical food aid operations.
The Revitalized Agreement is now at a breaking point. On 11 September
2025, the Government announced charges against First Vice President
Riek Machar, arbitrarily detained since March 2025. His opposition
party has since fractured, with many of its key leaders jailed or
exiled. Meanwhile, the President’s daughter, as well as Vice President
Bol Mel’s wife, have recently been elevated to senior government
positions. Amidst corruption and political upheaval, the prospects of
completing South Sudan’s transition, as envisaged by the Revitalized
Agreement, have significantly diminished.
“On the ground, we have seen the widespread deprivation and the
absence of basic infrastructure and services: direct outcomes of
corruption,” said Sooka. “South Sudan’s leaders must end the systemic
plunder and impunity. When public revenue becomes private fortune,
peace cannot hold. For the transition to survive, accountability for
economic crimes and an investment in human rights are indispensable.”
The Commission launched its report today at a press conference in
Nairobi, Kenya, fulfilling its Human Rights Council mandate to
investigate and report on human rights violations. The report
underscores that the devastating impacts of corruption are recognized
harms under international law, and by the African Union and the UN
Security Council. It highlights South Sudan’s legal duties under the
UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
which obligates South Sudan’s Government to allocate “maximum
available resources” to fulfill basic human rights.
The report sets out 54 recommendations to the Government of South
Sudan for ending impunity for corruption, strengthening accountability
and urgently prioritising the population’s basic needs in national
budgets and public spending processes.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/south-sudan-un-inquirys-report-details-how-systemic-government-corruption
END1
2. Attached please find the full report entitled "Plundering a Nation:
How Rampant Corruption Unleashed a Human Rights Crisis in South Sudan"
from the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, 16th September
2025.
https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/cohrsouthsudan/a-hrc-60-crp-5-low-file-size.pdf
END2
______________________
John Ashworth
ashwor...@gmail.com
+254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile, WhatsApp and Signal)
PO Box 403 - 00206, Kiserian, Kenya
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