Kiir sacks Jonglei deputy governor, names replacement

JUBA – South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit has issued a republic order dismissing the deputy governor of the country’s restive Jonglei state after several months of outcry from party members in the state who accused him of losing the way against the SPLM vision.

In the republic decree read out on the state-own South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC) on Wednesday evening, Kiir did not cite any reason as to why he dismissed Antipas Nyok, but many analysts have pointed to the recent disagreements with in Jonglei where the deputy governor arrested senior party members there.

In a separate republican decree also read out on the state-own SSBC, the South Sudanese head of state appointed Jacob Makuei Deng as the incoming deputy governor of Jonglei state with effect from Wednesday.

Political infighting among senior members of the ruling SPLM faction in Jonglei state has escalated last July after a group calling itself ‘Senior SPLM Representatives’ urged Kiir to remove Antipas, the Chairman of the SPLM in Jonglei state, as the deputy governor.

The group also urged President Kiir who doubles as the Chairman of the SPLM faction to remove the deputy governor from the position of SPLM chairman in Jonglei.

“We are now in the media because we found no avenue for dialogue. As a party, it is a concern to us that we are divided while the elections are approaching. So, we are calling on the president to dismiss Antipas Nyok,” Gabriel Deng Ajak, the group’s representative, was quoted by Radio Tamazuj last July.

“Our chairman Nyok has proven to be incompetent to lead the party. He continues threatening us. He continued dividing the party and closed down the activities of the party. So, we submit this appeal because we want the president to salvage SPLM,” he added.