Africa-Press – South-Sudan. Baliet Senior Secondary School has announced plans to take legal action against the Commissioner of Baliet County, Joseph Deng Angou, over allegations of fraud, corruption, embezzlement of teachers’ salaries, and abuse of authority, accusations the commissioner has firmly denied, describing them as false and malicious.
The notification of intended legal action was issued by the school’s Acting Director, John Majak Adut, and addressed to the Office of the Executive Director of Baliet County on the first day of the new year 2026.
It follows the commissioner’s alleged failure to clear salary arrears amounting to SSP 40 million owed to teaching and non-teaching staff, despite a formal demand letter dated December 27, 2025, which set December 31 as the deadline for payment. According to the school administration, the deadline had elapsed without payment, and the commissioner also declined to meet with school leaders and community representatives to discuss the issue.
In the notification, the school argues that administrative channels at the county level have been exhausted, leaving the court of law as the only remaining avenue to resolve the dispute. The Acting Director stated that repeated efforts by teachers and concerned community members to engage the commissioner on unpaid salaries were ignored.
Central to the accusations is an alleged pattern of fraud and deception. The school claims the commissioner used teachers’ names to obtain financial support from humanitarian organisations, including Nile Hope and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), without disbursing the funds to the intended beneficiaries.
The notification alleges that in July 2025, the commissioner received 200 electronic cards from Nile Hope, each reportedly worth 20,000 South Sudanese pounds per month, amounting to an estimated 60,000 US dollars over three months, purportedly for teachers’ salaries. The funds, the school claims, were never paid to teachers.
Further allegations relate to early December 2025, when the Red Cross provided cash assistance of SSP 780,000 per person to victims of an incident in Adong. According to the school, the commissioner listed 20 names without the individuals’ knowledge, collected SSP 15.6 million in the name of paying teachers, and failed to pass on the money.
The notification also accuses him of collecting funds from payam chiefs and various county departments, including a primary health care centre, again using teachers’ names, with only a small amount reportedly distributed to teachers to conceal the alleged misconduct. The school has also accused the commissioner of mistreatment and aggressive conduct towards teachers.
Examples cited include the arrest and expulsion of the Deputy Head Teacher, Paulino Madut Ring, on October 6, 2025, and the alleged denial of accommodation to the Acting Director after he pressed for the payment of salary arrears. The notification states that accommodation for teachers recruited from outside Baliet County, including Juba, formed part of an agreement due to the lack of local housing.
Additional accusations include corruption linked to the handling of salaries for five teachers delivered by the County Education Director from the ministry on December 28, 2025. The school alleges that despite clear instructions from the Director General that the money be handed to the Acting Director, the commissioner ordered the funds to be brought to his residence.
The school further accuses the commissioner of wasting teachers’ time by recruiting educators from Juba and Nimule in June 2025 with promises of payment from oil revenue allocations, only for them to remain unpaid for seven months.
In its demands, the school is seeking repayment of 60,000 US dollars allegedly obtained through Nile Hope, SSP 15.6 million linked to Red Cross assistance, and any other funds collected from the community using teachers’ names. It also says it will pursue compensation for the period teachers allegedly worked without pay, stating that it will no longer accept the previously demanded SSP 40 million in arrears.
In response, the Office of the Commissioner of Baliet County has strongly rejected all the allegations. In a statement, Commissioner Joseph Deng Angou described the claims as “baseless,” “entirely false,” and deliberately aimed at misleading public opinion and damaging his reputation.
The commissioner’s office said the allegations were fabrications lacking credibility or concrete evidence and accused those spreading them of engaging in disinformation to undermine public trust.
The Baliet County Government, according to the statement, reaffirmed its commitment to integrity and to operating within legal and professional frameworks, adding that it would not engage in public disputes with parties that rely on what it termed falsehoods as a means of communication.
The commissioner’s office also warned that it has begun coordinating with its legal team to monitor the spread of the allegations and would take legal action against individuals or entities involved in order to seek redress and hold accountable anyone found to be tampering with facts.
The school has indicated that its spokesperson, Zakeo Sida, based in Juba, will brief the media further on the matter. As both sides prepare for possible court action, the dispute now appears set to move from public statements to a legal showdown, where the competing claims are likely to be tested before a court of law.
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