South Sudan President Kiir dismisses finance minister, top security officials in major shake-up
President Kiir has replaced ministers, security chiefs, and presidential advisors in a major government shake-up ahead of postponed elections.
South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has dismissed Finance Minister Athian Diing Athian just two months after his appointment, in a sweeping government reshuffle that also affected top security and presidential offices.
Announced Monday on state broadcaster South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation, Athian will be replaced by Barnaba Bak Chol, marking the eighth change in the finance docket since 2020. Chol previously held the position for about six months before his removal in March this year.
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The presidential decree also removed Madut Yel as presidential advisor on security affairs, replacing him with Tut Gatluak, who returns to the role.
Similarly, Minister of Presidential Affairs Chol Ajongo was sacked and succeeded by Africano Mande, while Ajing Deng was dismissed as Executive Director in the Office of the President and replaced by James Deng Wal.
Security sector reshuffle
The reshuffle extended to the security sector, with Tiger Division Commander Maj. Gen. Valentino Baak Makuei was replaced by Lt. Gen. Philip Nyon.
In the Ministry of Petroleum, Deng Lual was removed as undersecretary and replaced by Chol Deng, while in diplomacy, Rita Kiden Lotua was appointed South Sudan's Ambassador to Rwanda.
No reason was given by Kiir for the shake-up, but analysts suggest his frequent reshuffles are a strategy to maintain control amid internal power struggles, ongoing armed conflict, and uncertainty over the country’s delayed elections.
Transitional government
Kiir has led a transitional government since South Sudan gained independence in 2011, with elections postponed twice amid political and security challenges.
The delays have heightened tensions between Kiir and longtime rival, First Vice President Riek Machar, who was charged with treason in September.
Machar’s trial threatens to unravel the fragile peace that ended years of brutal conflict in South Sudan.
The war erupted in 2013 after Kiir dismissed Machar and accused him of plotting a coup, sparking clashes that killed over 400,000 people and displaced millions, exposing deep ethnic divisions between Kiir’s Dinka community and Machar’s Nuer group.
A peace deal brokered by Sudan and Uganda in 2018 brought the rivals together in a unity government and reinstated Machar as vice president. However, progress has been slow, with persistent power-sharing disputes stalling implementation of the accord.
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