![Benjamin Bol Mel, Vice President for Economic Cluster. [Photo courtesy]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sudanspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Dr-Banjamin-Bol-Mel-.png?ssl=1)
The move comes amid speculation about Kiir’s health and a potential succession plan.
Kiir, who also leads the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), reshuffled the party’s top leadership, replacing Igga, a long-serving liberation war veteran, with Bol Mel. Bol Mel, appointed vice president in February 2025, is a wealthy businessman under U.S. sanctions for alleged ties to money-laundering construction firms.
He oversees the economic portfolio as vice president and is seen as increasingly influential in government decision-making.
Analysts suggest the appointment positions Bol Mel, a close ally, as a potential successor to the 73-year-old president. The decree, announced on state broadcaster late Tuesday, did not explain the reshuffle.
South Sudan has been formally at peace since a 2018 agreement ended a five-year civil war. However, the country continues to face a humanitarian crisis marked by sporadic violence, food insecurity, and inadequate healthcare.
In other unexpected moves, Kiir removed Daniel Awet Akot as the SPLM’s second deputy chairperson and Kuol Manyang Juuk as third deputy chairperson.
He appointed Mary Apai Ayiga as second deputy chairperson and Simon Kun Puoch, a former governor of Upper Nile state, as third deputy chairperson. Additional decrees revoked Igga’s position as secretary-general and Ayiga’s as deputy secretary-general.
Kiir and his rival, First Vice President Riek Machar, formed a unity government in 2020 under the 2018 peace deal.
However, Kiir placed Machar under house arrest on March 26 for his alleged involvement in recent violence in Nasir County.
In September 2024, Kiir and Machar delayed elections for another two years, pushing back a vote originally scheduled under the country’s transitional agreement.
