Kiir replaces commander of presidential guard

JUBA – South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit has replaced Major-General Lual Wek Guem as the commander of the Presidential Guard, commonly known as the Tiger Battalion, which is tasked with protecting the president and key officials such as the vice-president.

In an order dated October 7, 2024, Kiir, who also serves as Commander-in-Chief of the SSPDF, instructed Chief of Defense Forces (CDF) Lt. Gen. Santino Deng Wol to transfer Maj. Gen. Lual Wek Guem from his post leading the presidential guard to the General Headquarters of the SSPDF in Bilpam.

“Pursuant to the Provisions of Section 27 (1) of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army Act, 2009, I, Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of the Republic of South Sudan, the Commander-in-Chief of the SSPDF, do hereby transfer Maj. Gen. Lual Wek Guem Maroldit from being the Commander of Tiger Division of the SSPDF to the General Headquarters of the SSPDF,” the order to Gen. Wol said.

In a separate directive obtained by Sudans Post and also dated October 7, 2024, Kiir recalled the commander of the SSPDF’s 1^st Infantry Division, Maj. Gen. Abraham Gum Makuac, stationed in Renk County, Upper Nile State, to the SSPDF’s General Headquarters in Juba. He then ordered the two commanders to switch posts.

“Pursuant to the Provisions of Section 27 (1) of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army Act, 2009, I, Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of the Republic of South Sudan, the Commander-in-Chief of the SSPDF, do hereby transfer Maj. Gen. Abraham Gum Makuac from being the Commander of 1st Infantry Division of the SSPDF to the General Headquarters of the SSPDF,” the order read.

An additional order, signed by the SSPDF’s Assistant Chief of Defense Forces for Administration, Personnel, and Finance, Lt. Gen. Lual Majok, confirmed the appointments. Gen. Lual Wek was named the new commander of the 1st Infantry Division, while Gen. Makuac was appointed as the new head of the presidential guards.

The document, circulated to all military units, the chief of military intelligence, the deputy chief of defense forces, and the chief of defense forces, referenced presidential orders RSS/RO/J/13/2024 and RSS/RO/J/14/2024, which authorized the transfers of Wek and Gum, respectively.

These reshuffles follow a series of sweeping changes within South Sudan’s security apparatus. Last week, Kiir dismissed the long-serving Director of Internal Security Bureau (ISB), General Akol Koor, from his post, appointing him as governor of Warrap State, Kiir’s home state.

However, General Akol, who was in the United Arab Emirates when he was removed from his security post, was abruptly dismissed from his new role as Warrap governor just hours after arriving back in South Sudan. Eyewitnesses said Akol appeared visibly angry when he disembarked from a flydubai plane, declining to greet the crowds gathered to welcome him.

Multiple security sources told Sudans Post on Tuesday that Lual’s removal from his post occurred while he was on medical leave abroad. The sources, who declined to reveal the location, alleged that both Lual and former National Security Service chief General Akol Koor were suspected of plotting a military coup.