MSF probes alleged affair between staff member, police officer’s wife in Yei

JUBA – Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) says it has launched an internal investigation following allegations that one of its staff members in Yei River County of South Sudan’s Central Equatoria State was involved in an alleged affair with the wife of a South Sudanese police officer.

The accusations were made in a Facebook post by a user identified as Denaya Lo Akandu, who described himself as a police officer and father of seven children.

In the post made earlier in March, he accused an MSF employee, identified as Batali Cosmas, of having a relationship with his spouse and using his influence to secure her employment with the humanitarian organization.

Denaya alleged that the situation, which could violate the Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse policy, had disrupted his family and left him in distress.

“I am a humble citizen who works as a police officer in my country, South Sudan, a father of seven children,” he wrote in the post.

He claimed that a staff member of MSF in Yei had “taken advantage of my poor situation to confuse and disorganise my family by sleeping around with my wife.”

He further alleged that the staff member used his position within the organization to have his wife, identified as Victoria Adoru, hired by MSF despite what he described as her lack of formal education.

“He managed to employ my wife, Victoria Adoru, who isn’t even able to read or write, as a worker with MSF,” Denaya wrote, accusing the staff member of using “wealth and influence” associated with his job to take advantage of the situation.

The police officer also claimed that he personally confronted the two after allegedly catching them together earlier the same day.

The allegations, which quickly gained attention online, have not been independently verified.

In response to an email inquiry from Sudans Post regarding the matter, MSF said it treats any potential breach of its staff Code of Conduct with seriousness and has begun examining the matter.

“MSF takes all allegations of a potential breach of the organization’s staff Code of Conduct with the utmost seriousness and priority,” the organization said Monday.

MSF confirmed that it is currently conducting an internal investigation following the social media post that drew public attention.

“We are currently conducting an internal investigation regarding the social media post that recently attracted public attention,” the statement said.

The organization added that it remains open to cooperating with relevant authorities if necessary.

“Given the seriousness of the allegations concerning our staff in Yei, MSF remains open to responding to any inquiries from the relevant authorities,” MSF said.

MSF emphasized that it maintains strict standards for staff conduct and remains committed to preventing abuse of power or exploitation in its operations in South Sudan and other countries where it operates.

“MSF remains committed to preventing and addressing any abuse of power or exploitation by staff in South Sudan, as well as in the other 74 countries where we work to serve people in need,” the organization added.

It was not immediately clear when the investigation will conclude, and whether the findings will be made public.