South Sudan detains national security general amid post-sacking political purge

JUBA — A senior officer in South Sudan’s National Security Service (NSS) has been arrested in what sources describe as the latest move in a widening political crackdown linked to an alleged coup network associated with former Vice President Benjamin Bol Mel.

Victor Deng Akeen, the chief of operations at the NSS Internal Security Bureau (ISB), was detained on Monday in his hometown of Akon in Gogrial West County of Warrap State and later transferred to Juba under heavy security, three independent sources familiar with the operation said.

The reasons for his arrest have not been officially announced by the government.

The detention comes amid continuing arrests, dismissals and intensifying security sweeps following accusations that associates of Bol Mel were involved in an attempted power grab against President Salva Kiir Mayardit.

A senior security officer at the NSS with direct knowledge of the arrest said Deng Akeen was taken into custody without public confrontation.

“He was arrested in Akon, specifically at the airport, and taken straight to Juba under heavy security,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the political sensitivity of the case.

“The operation was carried out quietly, and no official charges have been communicated to the family or to the public,” the officer added on condition of anonymity.

The source added that Deng Akeen is being held at a high-security detention facility in Juba, separate from the main NSS headquarters, a location typically reserved for politically sensitive cases.

Deng Akeen hails from Gogrial West County of Warrap State, the same region as President Salva Kiir, making his arrest particularly sensitive within South Sudan’s political and security establishment.

Gogrial has long been regarded as a core power base within the ruling elite, and the detention of a senior security figure from the area underscores the depth of the current internal purge.

Deng Akeen’s arrest follows weeks of detentions and dismissals of officials alleged to be associated with Bol Mel, who was removed from government by President Kiir in mid-November following rumours of his involvement in an alleged violent succession plan.

“This is not an isolated case. His arrest is connected to an ongoing security probe into networks that were believed to be aligned with Bol Mel’s political and security structure,” a senior official in the security sector said.

According to security sources, others previously arrested over alleged ties to the same network — including Achan Agoth, Dominic Juk Chom and Ajiiŋ Deng Ajiiŋ — remain in custody.

The official said further arrests could follow as investigators work through what they described as “layers of loyalty” inside the security services and political institutions.

Political figures in Juba say the arrest has heightened anxiety across the capital, with rumours circulating of further imminent detentions involving figures recently relieved from government posts, including Garang Majak Bol, Simon Akuei and Deng Lual — all described by political insiders as loyalists of Bol Mel.

“There is a lot of fear right now. Every senior official thinks they could be next,” a Juba-based politician familiar with internal party deliberations said, noting a sharp shift in the capital’s political atmosphere over the past week.

Deng Akeen’s career included a brief, high-profile appointment in September 2025 as commander of the elite Tiger Division, the unit responsible for protecting the president and senior government officials.

His appointment was revoked just one month later, and he was returned to his previous post at the NSS.