Authorities in Kapoeta East County, Eastern Equatoria State, say they are holding six teachers in Mogos Primary school for stealing learners’ food.
The county acting education director says the food was provided by Organization for Peace Relief and Development or OPRD to support children in school.
Daniel Lopidio identified some of the accused teachers as Patrick Achoroi, head teacher; Raila Lodinka, and Daye Lopir.
He says the accused are currently in Kapoeta town police station for investigation.
He explain that the teachers divided food among themselves each getting 23 sacks of rice leaving children stranded without food to eat in the school.
According to him, the head teacher has been found to have used the food to settle an adultery case.
“Something funny about this is that the guy slept with someone else’s wife. And when the husband of the women wanted to have him arrested, the headteacher chose to pay that man with 23 bags of rice,” Lopidio told Singaita FM.
He also accused Achoroi of stealing school construction materials such as iron sheets and metallic boxes.
Lopidio called for more support to the school because learners are currently stranded without the motivational food, which was meant to keep them in school.
For his part, the County Commissioner of Kapoeta East, Abdallah Lokeno, condemned the incident of stealing children food.
“This is really bad. There are people who like to eat free things because they are the bosses; they took this food to pay off the case; they have to face the law for really,” Lokeno stated.
He urged teachers to portray good image instead of stealing because this spoil their profession.
Efforts to reach the arrested teachers to comment on the accusations were not immediately successful.