South Sudan’s President Kiir Sacks Top Officials, Including Vice-Presidents.

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir. Courtesy image .

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has dismissed two of the country’s vice-presidents, the head of the intelligence agency, and several other senior officials in a major government shake-up. The changes were announced through a series of presidential decrees read on the state broadcaster, though no official reasons were given.

The removed vice-presidents are James Wani Igga and Hussein Abdelbagi Akol. Igga, a veteran politician and general, had been in office since 2013 and served as deputy chair of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM). Akol, from the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), has been reassigned as Minister of Agriculture, replacing Josephine Joseph Lagu, who now becomes a vice-president.

President Kiir appointed businessman Benjamin Bol Mel, who was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2017 for alleged corruption, as the new vice-president in place of Igga.

South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011, has struggled with political instability since the 2018 power-sharing agreement aimed at ending its civil war. The latest reshuffle could signal an attempt by Kiir to consolidate power ahead of the country’s long-delayed elections.

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