South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has dismissed Vice-President Dr Benjamin Bol Mel from his position and removed him as First Deputy Chairman of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), amid alleged escalating political tensions within the ruling establishment.
The move was announced late Wednesday in a presidential decree broadcast on state television, coming just hours after security forces reportedly withdrew Bol Mel’s security detail from his residence and office in Juba.
Juba did not provide an official explanation for the dismissal, and it remains unclear whether the former vice-president is under any restrictions.
Dr Bol Mel, 52, who had also been serving as head of the government’s economic cluster, was appointed vice-president in February 2025, replacing veteran politician Dr James Wani Igga. His rapid political rise — including his appointment as First Deputy Chairman of the SPLM in May and subsequent promotion to full general in the National Security Service (NSS) in September — had sparked speculation that he was being positioned as a potential successor to Kiir.
However, Wednesday’s decree not only removed him from office but also stripped him of his military rank, demoting him from full general to private and dismissing him from the NSS altogether.
The development comes against a backdrop of reported growing internal rifts within the SPLM and government, reportedly linked to disputes over the management of oil revenues between July 2024 and November 2025.
Sources allege that millions of U.S. dollars vanished from government accounts during this period, deepening divisions among senior officials.
In a wider reshuffle, President Kiir also dismissed several top government and party figures seen as allies of Bol Mel. Prof. Paul Logale Jumi was removed as SPLM Secretary-General and replaced by Akol Paul Kordit, while Dr Addis Ababa Othow, Governor of the Bank of South Sudan, was replaced with Yeni Samuel Costa. Simon Akuei Deng, Commissioner General of the South Sudan Revenue Authority (SSRA), was also relieved of his duties, with William Anyuon Kuol appointed in his stead.
Analysts view the sweeping shake-up as a move by President Kiir to reassert control over the SPLM and neutralize emerging factions within his administration ahead of the country’s next electoral cycle.
No official response has yet been issued by Dr Bol Mel or his aides.
