The president appointed James Kueth Makuach to replace Mr Nyang, a card-carrying member of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO).
Nyang, now a former commissioner, was on an indefinite suspension imposed by the state authorities after he was accused of violating international migration laws by leaving his work station and crossing the border into Ethiopia without obtaining permission from the state authorities.
The state government also claimed that Deng hosted the Commissioner of Pangak County at the Akobo County Headquarters without notifying the state authorities.
In protest, the SPLM-IO condemned the suspension and urged the administration of Gai to reinstate the commissioner.
The Presidential Decree read on SSBC Tuesday evening means the protest has been in vain, as the commissioner received the final blow to his administrative hopes.
STATEMENT | SSFDA on Kiir’s Removal of Akobo County Commissioner
“More reshuffles than clean underwear”
May 13, 2025
Once again, President Salva Kiir has demonstrated that the only thing more frequent than his political firings is his need to reshuffle loyalty like a gambler playing with a rigged deck.
The removal of Simon Puok Nyang Tutjiek, an SPLM-IO commissioner, is not about governance—it’s about Kiir’s obsession with absolute control. When a man rules by paranoia instead of policy, every independent thought is seen as rebellion, and every capable official is a threat.
Let us be clear:
This is not leadership. It is kleptocratic puppeteering.
Simon Nyang is accused of crossing a border. But what of Kiir, who crosses every constitutional line without consequence?
What of the countless governors, ministers, and commissioners who have looted public coffers, orchestrated ethnic cleansing, and signed oil deals with foreign mercenaries—yet remain comfortably in office?
The real crime in Akobo wasn’t a trip to Ethiopia.
It was refusing to bow to Juba’s culture of silence, fear, and obedience.
Kiir’s strategy is as tired as his excuses:
Replace opposition leaders with handpicked loyalists.
Stamp out local autonomy.
Pretend it’s “discipline,” while the entire nation bleeds from his indiscipline.
The South Sudan Federal Democratic Alliance (SSFDA) reminds the people of Akobo and across the country: you were not born to be ruled by decree.
You deserve leaders chosen by communities, not by a man in a cowboy hat clinging to power with oil-stained hands and empty promises.
This is not the governance of a republic—it is the behavior of a dictator in decline.
We say to Kiir:
South Sudan is not your family business.
The counties are not your chessboard.
And the people will remember every betrayal.
The time for reshuffling pawns is over. The board itself is about to be flipped.
Signed,
Press Office
South Sudan Federal Democratic Alliance (SSFDA)
Justice. Unity. Federalism.