Nairobi (Reuters) – South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has made changes to the top leadership of the ruling party by official decree, at a time when the country is witnessing renewed fighting between rival armed factions and widespread speculation about Kiir’s succession plans.
Kiir, 73, issued a decree appointing his sanctioned ally, Second Vice President Benjamin Bol Mel, as deputy leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), the ruling party. The announcement was broadcast on state television on Tuesday evening, weeks after the United Nations warned that the country was on the brink of civil war.
Political analysts consider Bol Mel to be Kiir’s closest chosen successor. The United States imposed sanctions on him in 2017 over suspicions that his construction company received preferential treatment in the awarding of government contracts.
Should Kiir step down, Bol Mel’s new role as deputy leader of the SPLM would make him the acting head of state.
The reshuffle comes after months of political uncertainty, during which authorities placed First Vice President Riek Machar, Kiir’s rival, under house arrest, accusing him of attempting to incite a rebellion.
Machar’s opposition party has denied these allegations, stating that the move has effectively nullified the 2018 peace agreement that ended a five-year civil war between Kiir’s Dinka forces and Machar’s Nuer loyalists.
