Machar rejects removal of SPLM-IO governor, health minister as ‘unilateral’

JUBA – South Sudan’s First Vice President and main armed opposition SPLM-IO leader Riek Machar Teny has rejected President Salva Kiir’s dismissal of Western Equatoria State Governor Alfred Futuyo and Health Minister Yolanda Awel Deng, calling the move a violation of the 2018 peace deal.

Kiir issued a series of presidential decrees on Monday night removing Vice Presidents James Wani Igga and Hussein Abdelbagi, along with several senior officials, including Futuyo and Awel, both of whom were appointed under the SPLM-IO’s power-sharing quota in the transitional government.

The president did not name replacements for the two SPLM-IO officials in the decrees readout on the state-owned South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC).

In a statement issued quickly after the decrees, Machar’s office denounced the decision, saying his party was not consulted as required by the revitalized peace agreement, which returned him to the presidency after a five-year civil war in 2020.

“We would like to inform our members and the general public that today’s presidential decrees issued by H.E. President Salva Kiir, relieving Hon. Yolanda Awel as National Minister of Health and H.E. Alfred Futuyo Karaba as Governor of Western Equatoria State, represent a unilateral decision,” the statement signed by Machar’s media aide Puok Both reads in part.

“The SPLM-IO leadership did not decide on their removal. Therefore, we consider this another serious violation of the Revitalized Agreement by the SPLM-IG,” the statement posted on social media Facebook added.

It added that the SPLM-IO retains the right to nominate replacements for its members in government, in line with the peace agreement’s provisions.

“We wish to state unequivocally that when the SPLM-IO leadership decides to replace any of its members serving in government structures under the R-ARCSS, the party will nominate a replacement by notifying the president concurrently,” it said.

The unilateral nature of the dismissals has heightened tensions between the SPLM-IO and SPLM-IG, with concerns that the move could further destabilize the already fragile peace deal, which has failed to achieve its main purpose since its singing in 2018.