Former Vice-President reappointed

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has reappointed his former Vice-President James Wani Igga to the same position, after dismissing a powerful ally who had been widely seen as a potential successor, reports TimesLIVE. Fears of a return to civil war are growing as uncertainty surrounds the succession of the 74-year-old Kiir, who has repeatedly sacked, reinstated and, sometimes, again sacked senior officials. Analysts see the moves as being aimed at placating diverse constituencies and navigating turbulent political moments. Igga, a former speaker of the House, previously served as Kiir’s Vice-President from 2013 until he was sacked in February. Then, last week, Benjamin Bol Mel, the close Kiir ally who had held the office for about nine months, was suddenly fired, along with the central bank governor and other officials. Kiir also fired and reappointed several other officials in a decree read on state broadcaster, South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation. South Sudan has five Vice-Presidents under the terms of a peace pact that ended its civil war in 2018, which meant that from 2018 Igga was joined by four others, including Kiir’s key rival Riek Machar, in the role of first Vice-President. Machar is being tried on charges of treason after he was put under house arrest in March.

Full TimesLIVE report