By William Madouk
South Sudan’s government has dismissed a widely shared “leaked” corruption report believed to be extracted from former Vice President Bol Mel’s phone as fake, warning that people who share it on social media risk prosecution.
At a press conference in Juba, a member of the Investigation and Prosecution Committee, Dr Abraham Telar, issued a strong denial of the document, which claims to expose secret financial payments to senior officials and individuals linked to the presidency.
“This is an official denunciation of the documents circulating as the Investigation Committee leaked report,” he said.
He described the material as “a total provocation” and “a baseless work of fiction.”
The document, titled “Investigation Committee Leak Report: Dr Benjamin Bol Mel Electronic Diary,” alleges that millions of dollars were distributed to dozens of individuals, including politicians, military officers and foreign nationals.
Among the claims, it lists payments such as $15m to Monica Achol Abel Aguek, $10m to Adut Salva, $18m to Anok Salva, $15m to Taban Deng Gai and $25m to Salim Saleh. It also alleges that some funds were used to buy properties abroad.
But the committee says none of the claims are real.
“The Committee maintains no record of the electronic diary or specific financial claims referenced in the circulating material,” Dr Telar said.
“Any narratives, names, or figures presented in the document are entirely external to the Committee work and hold no factual or legal standing.”
He added that the document lacks official features of a genuine report.
“This fraudulent document lacks all requisite institutional markers, including official letterheads, serial numbers, and internal authentication protocols,” he said.
Dr Telar said any document shared anonymously online should be treated as fake.
“As a matter of standard procedure, the Committee confirms that any document surfacing via anonymous digital channels is by definition a forgery,” he said.
He also described the circulation of the report as a “coordinated disinformation campaign” aimed at damaging reputations and undermining justice.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Michael Makuei Lueth, warned that authorities would take action against those spreading unverified information online.
“What we are seeing these days is that social media has gone viral and gone wild. People are writing all unnecessary information, creating a lot of stories that are not verified,” he said.
He cautioned that even forwarding such content could lead to legal consequences.
“If you get it somewhere, then you forward it to others, you are even an accomplice,” he said. “An accomplice person is charged the same charges as the principal accused.”
Makuei said the government is ready to enforce the law.
“As you know very well, we have passed the Cybersecurity and Computer Crimes Act. It is now operational,” he said. “We are capable of tracing whatever you put on social media.”
He added: “From now on, we will be prosecuting, taking people to court on these social media crimes.”
The minister insisted that the investigation committee could not leak its own findings.
“The investigation committee cannot, under any circumstances, leak a document of an investigation,” he said.
The government has urged the public and media to ignore the document and rely on official channels, as investigations into corruption cases continue behind closed doors.