![South Sudan cabinet minister Martin Elia Lomuro speaking during a press conference in Juba on Tuesday, February 21st 2023. [Photo by Sudans Post]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sudanspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_7717.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&ssl=1)
Kiir last week sacked Teny and her interior ministry counterpart Mahmoud Solomon without naming replacement.
The president in a separate decree transferred the defense docket – which belonged to the SPLM-IO – to his party and gave the SPLM-IO his interior portfolio.
The main armed opposition group condemned the changes as violation of the revitalized peace agreement and a meeting to resolve the issue between Kiir and his first deputy Dr. Riek Machar – who is also the leader of the SPLM-IO – ended in deadlock last Friday.
Speaking to reporters in Juba on Monday, Lomuro said the president removed Angelina Teny and moved the ministry to his party so that he can have a firm control of the country’s security sector.
“His [the president] concern is the fact that these forces that are now unified, are now called the unified forces, are now under the command of one person, that is the commander in chief, who is the president,” Lomuro said.
“He realized that the timescale for the implementation of the roadmap is very tight, and yet the ministry of defense is one of those ministries that are fundamental to provide the ground for the establishment of the professional security sector,” he added.
The senior government official further said that the president had to make changes so as his orders are not undermined as the commander in chief.
“So he wants to take charge so that when he gives orders, no one will stop what he says must be done because sometimes, you know, technocrats can undermine decisions made by a minister,” he said.
“But if the president is in charge, nobody will stop [decisions]. That is why he wants to take full responsibility to complete the unification of the forces, deployment of the forces, professionalization of the forces and moving on to the second phase of the cantonment, training and graduation of phase two,” he concluded.
