Re: The conduct of Hon. Atong Kuol Manyang Juuk, Minister of Trade and Industry
Your Excellency,
I write this letter with a heavy heart, filled with grief and urgency, while the mothers of South Sudan struggle to fend for their families and our beloved soldiers who liberated this country, including the disabled, go unpaid; Hon. Atong Kuol Manyang Juuk enjoys a ministerial office she is unworthy of, with a very sharp tongue, insulting the public, defying the Cabinet, and fighting everyone who tries to hold her accountable.
Therefore, this letter serves as an expression of a demand from transgressed citizens of the country; it is not a mere plea. Citizens say she must go.
To furnish you with indisputable facts, consider this accurate account of events that are typical of her arrogance. On April 17, 2026, she spoke to Eye Radio, telling them that the government “cares” about citizens’ suffering. She then went on to blame other priorities for the failure to construct roads, deliver healthcare services, or even pay salaries. This was perceived by the public that she was indirectly telling them that the public funds meant for development have been diverted by government officials for their personal gain.
Despite her spiteful betrayal of the government through that statement, citizens took her conversation as a manifestation of ignorance; however, what angered the citizens most was her response to the public’s rightful outrage at her speech. Just a few hours from the time of her despicable statement, she posted on her Facebook page: “The dogs bark, but the caravan goes on.”
She was referring to the citizens of South Sudan, those who employed her, as dogs. She went on to defend her post without remorse, apology, or resignation. She from time to time remains hellbent in public contempt. Her recent conduct is a distinctive manifestation of her double dealing: she publicly criticizes the government she serves in while deliberately fueling anger against the state. Through her actions, she projects a brazen audacity to wound or harm the government from inside.
It is an irrefutable truth that her record is a trail of strained character masquerading as a public servant. Here is the summary of the sequence of her deeds: as state minister of environment and forestry, she suspended the director general over money, and then she had a furious clash with deputy governor Akech Dengdit; this resulted in Akech’s sacking, and then she took his seat. As Deputy Governor of Jonglei State, she had a clash of wills with Governor Denay Jock Chagor; this was political, and she extended the same brutal fight to Hon. Majub Biel Turuk over finances.
Now at the national level as minister of trade and industry, she suspended Hon. Achier Mike John for organizing a staff get-together superimposed on a claim that he was appointed without her knowledge; she also appointed her uncle Peter Kuot Madhor as director of external trade and went on to punish officer Nyoka for refusing to pass expired maize flour at the Nimule border. This was a contemptuous action; it is unusual to dismiss a civil servant who has dedicated herself to the protection of citizens’ health from aflatoxin-infested maize flour and from other undesirable health effects. At the time of this letter, it has been confirmed by reliable sources that her acting undersecretary, through her instruction, is on course, ready to approve shoddy contracts and clear counterfeit goods at the Nimule border.
In advancement of her arrogance, on March 5, 2026, she decided to unilaterally suspend the Crawford Capital Digital Payment System across all its stations; that was an act that overturned Council of Ministers Resolution No. 34/2024, passed on September 14, 2024. A day later, H.E. Vice President Prof. James Wani Igga had to officially rebuke her (Ref: RSS/OOVP/2/J/026), saying that a Cabinet resolution “cannot be changed or undone by one minister’s decision.”
Her defiance had consequences that she revealed to the public by herself in a letter she wrote: fuel prices doubled from SSP 6,800 to SSP 12,000 per liter. It was the ordinary South Sudanese who paid a price, emanating from her barefaced arrogance.
Your Excellency, the youth of this country are equal before God and equal before the law; they are not less than Atong Kuol Manyang in all measures. With Atong lavishing her faulty character at the helm of government responsibility, youth have made an inference that a minister who insults citizens, fights everyone around her, overrides cabinet resolutions, entrenches nepotism, criticizes her own government publicly, and refuses to resign is not serving the country; she is holding it hostage.
We, therefore, call upon you to remove Hon. Atong Kuol Manyang Juuk from the office, commission an independent investigation into the Nimule border irregularities, and restore the honor of a government too many South Sudanese died to build. Her conduct shows she does not belong to the cabinet. She is not morally upright. She is not virtuous. She is very much replaceable, but the reputation of the country and the honor of the citizens are irreplaceable.
Respectfully,
Dr. Sunday de John
On behalf of the concerned citizens of the Republic of South Sudan
The writer, Dr. Sunday de John, 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.
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