South Sudan: Couple of Months After Sacking Spy Chief, Kiir Fires Army Head, IGP, and Central Bank Governor
South Sudan President Salva Kiir on Monday night made significant changes in the security sector and Bank of South Sudan leadership.
In a series of decrees read on the state-owned South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC), Gen. Santino Deng Wol was relieved as Chief of Defense Forces and appointed Undersecretary in the Ministry of Defense and Veterans Affairs.
In another decree, Gen. Paul Nang Majok was appointed as the new Chief of Defense Forces.
Atak Santino Majak was sacked as Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defense and Veterans Affairs.
Another decree fired Gen. Atem Marol Biar as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and another appointed Gen. Abraham Peter Manyuat as his replacement.
At the Central Bank, Garang Alic was relieved as Governor of the Bank of South Sudan (BOSS), and Johnny Ohisa Damian who served in the position before was reappointed as the new Governor of the Bank of South Sudan.
Kiir also dismissed Garang Majak as the first undersecretary of the finance ministry and appointed Arop Nuoi Arop in his place.
On 2 October, Kiir summarily dismissed long-serving Director General of the Internal Security Bureau of the National Security Service (NSS) Gen Akol Koor Kuc and named Akec Tong Aleu as his replacement.
Gen. Koor who was out of the country when he was fired was then appointed governor of Warrap State but the nomination was rescinded the day he arrived in Juba.
On the evening of 21 November, a gunfight erupted at the home of Gen. Koor after soldiers who had purportedly gone to arrest him clashed with hose guarding him.
Army Spokesperson Major General Lul Ruai Koang at the time described the shooting as a “misunderstanding” between different levels of security forces at the residence of the former spy chief.
“There was a shooting at the residence of former Spy Chief Gen. Akol Koor, and it involved our security forces who had been deployed to provide extra security,” he said.
He explained that two layers of security had been assigned to protect Akol since his removal from the position of director general in October 2024.
“The misunderstanding occurred between the two forces. We are not sure what triggered it, but the result was the gunfire you heard earlier. As a result, two servicemen were shot and wounded,” he said.
Later, Lul said the heavy gunfire resulted after an attempt to relocate Gen. Koor to another of his houses in the Jeel suburb and left four people dead and two others injured.
The shooting left Juba residents rattled and scared and there has been tension in the city since.