In other words, the SPLA was parceling out the fabric of the state itself. Its agents did so for their own immediate gain; the higher-ups let it happen so that the SPLA would not collapse and, in doing so, undermine their own benefits; and the UN and the donors celebrated the higher-ups as the legitimate rulers of a legitimate state. Outside supporters griped about corruption while empowering the corrupt party. “The fish rots from the head down,” as a saying, popular in the region, goes.
