By Matik Kueth
South Sudan’s political landscape shifted dramatically on Monday night after President Salva Kiir issued a series of sweeping decrees that restored Dr. James Wani Igga to national leadership and dismantled the rapid ascent of businessman-politician Dr. Benjamin Bol Mel.
Igga, long regarded as one of Kiir’s most trusted liberation-era comrades, made an unexpected comeback as vice president for the Economic Cluster.
His reinstatement ends months of uncertainty following his February dismissal and signals Kiir’s renewed reliance on veteran political figures during a moment of internal party turbulence.
The move simultaneously erased the brief and controversial tenure of Bol Mel, who had stepped out of the vice presidency only last week.
Bol Mel had lost not only that position but also the SPLM deputy chairmanship, the four-star general rank he received in September, and his role within the National Security Service.
The head of the state issued no explanation, though the decisions trail reports of internal revenue disputes and widening factional tensions within the ruling party.
Kiir’s decrees went far beyond the vice presidency, dismissing a number of high-profile ministers, including three long-serving political heavyweights.
Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth, a fixture of government communication for more than a decade, was removed from his post and reassigned as minister of justice, returning him to the legal portfolio he once held before independence.
Justice Minister Joseph Geng Akech, seen as an ally of Bol Mel and a key actor in the ongoing Machar trial, was dropped without reassignment.
The overhaul also replaced Roads and Bridges Minister Simon Mijok Mijak with former SPLM secretary-general Peter Lam Both, while the environment docket went to Mabior Garang de Mabior, adding new intrigue to the political dynamics involving his mother, Vice President Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior.
In the security sector, Kiir reappointed Gen. Saeed Chawul Lom as Inspector General of Police, bringing him back nearly seven years after his previous term. Gen. Abraham Manyuat Peter, who held the role for less than a year, was dismissed.
At the state level, another reversal unfolded, Central Equatoria Governor Rabi Mujung Emmanuel was removed, and Emmanuel Adil Anthony, dismissed last year, was reinstated to the governorship, marking one of the most dramatic comebacks of the night.
The president also shifted senior diplomatic positions appointing Regina Akur Nyok, recently to a role inside the Presidency, and named deputy ambassador to China, while Monica Achol Aguek returned to foreign service as presidential envoy for the Middle East.
None of the presidential decrees provided explanations, but the scale and timing of the moves point to a far-reaching reassertion of authority within SPLM and the government, as Kiir embarks on consolidating control after weeks of intensifying internal jockeying.