23/12/2025
By Gatluak Gatjang
DEC, 23RD 2025 (JUBA)
Who could not remember the fundraising conducted by the Fangak Youth Union in Juba with support from Gaatfangak of all walks of life, the Nuer community, and other South Sudanese? This initiative was the result of a devastating floodings which engulfed the whole county, exacerbated by the flooding of Old Fangak, a historical town. The flooding traumatised the whole county, prompting all Gaatfangak to come together and collect the little they had to uplift their vulnerable mothers, fathers, and siblings back home—those who could not manage to buy their own essentials or wait for NFIs often distributed by UN or NGO agencies.
This initiative was conducted under the leadership of Mawich Duoth Gatluak, an excited fellow with limited leadership experience. According to one of the Board members who asked not to be mentioned, the corruption started immediately when they were setting up the fundraising committees. People with experience of messing up funds were brought onto the board, given positions of authority, and began making random decisions—including taking money away from the box of the Union as soon as the fundraising kicked off.
It was alleged that 30 million SSP and 89,000 USD were collected during the night of the fundraising, excluding pledges which were more than 130 million SSP. According to another insider, Senior Presidential Advisor Adut Salva Kiir issued a cheque of 45,000 USD to the committee, but that has not been made public and it remained a misery.
Immediately after the fundraising, the committee distributed among themselves 57,000 USD and 25 million SSP that same night and lied to the people about the figures collected.
Another problem arose when the committee was buying the NFIs. Instead of buying quality tarpaulins and other items, including fishing kits, they chose substandard ones and overpriced them to steal the money. More than 50% of the price went into the pockets of the committee. This was done with the knowledge of James Kok Ruea, one of the Fangak County MPs in the RTNLA, and some Executive Directors of National NGOs in Juba.
While on the ground, Mawich lied to the team that he had no money to pay the people handling the distribution—even though he had taken money for that specific work. He also consumed money meant for chiefs and youths on the ground.
Instead of distributing the items evenly among the payams, the dude decided to favour Nyadin and Pulita, maybe because he sees himself coming from there. Another insider from Paguir and Manajang attests to this and warns that such individuals don’t deserve to be given leadership.
Having seen how lucrative the business of fundraising is, he is currently working to once again con the people of Fangak in Juba into listening to his lies and deception. He is the real criminal who will soon face the consequences of acting in a fraudulent manner.
Going forward, the Fangak community must not allow him or the FYU to handle this complex task—one that drained people of their hard-earned money and wasted it on corruption in a manner that is truly unfortunate.
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