South Sudanese President Salva Kiir on Wednesday sacked the country’s foreign minister without proving any explanation for the same, the president’s spokesperson said, reported Reuters.
The dismissal comes less than a week after the president sacked Defense Minister Angelina Teny and Interior minister Mahmoud Solomon.
Foreign minister Mayiik Ayii Deng, who is a close ally of Kiir, had previously served as the minister of the president’s office. He was appointed in September 2021 as foreign minister, replacing Beatrice Khamisa Wani.
It currently remains unclear if Ayii’s sacking was linked to those of the defense and interior, a move which has threatened to destroy a fragile peace deal with the opposition leader, First Vice President Riek Machar.
“It’s a normal business. People can be relieved and replaced,” Kiir’s spokesperson Lily Martin Manyiel said.
The South Sudanese president did not appoint any replacement for the post but he ordered Deputy Foreign Minister Deng Dau to act as minister until another person is appointed.
Back in 2018, Kiir and Machar signed a peace agreement that ended five years of civil war that killed more than 400,000 people and led to Africa’s biggest refugee crisis since the 1994 Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi.
Implementation of the Revitalised Peace Agreement for South Sudan has been slow so far and the opposing forces have clashed frequently over disagreements on power sharing.
The South Sudanese president and vice president were expected to meet on Thursday to talk and resolve their differences, following the dismissal of defense minister Angelina Teny, who is also Machar’s wife.
Kiir reportedly handed over the defense ministry to his party, a role which, as per the terms of the peace agreement is meant to be appointed by Machar’s party. Machar condemned Kiir’s decision to dismiss his wife Teny from the defense minister’s post.
