JUBA, South Sudan – President Salva Kiir has removed South Sudan’s Chief Justice Chan Reec Madut and his deputy John Gatwech Lul in a sweeping move that tightens his grip on the country’s political and judicial institutions.
The unexpected dismissals, announced via a presidential decree late Thursday, come as opposition forces aligned with Riek Machar suffer a steep decline in influence within the National Assembly.
No official explanation was provided for the removals. However, the timing and context — unfolding amid a stalled peace process and the continued detention of former Vice President and opposition leader Riek Machar — signal a deepening consolidation of power by Kiir’s regime.
The president named Benjamin Bak Deng as the new Chief Justice and appointed Laku Trankilo Nyumbi as his deputy. Both are considered loyal to the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), according to government insiders and legal analysts.
“This is a strategic purge,” said Dr. John Ato, a constitutional scholar based in Juba.
“By reshaping the judiciary and sidelining opposition voices in Parliament, Kiir is methodically removing any institutional check on his authority.”
The judiciary overhaul coincided with reports that the parliamentary bloc loyal to Machar’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In-Opposition (SPLM-IO) has lost critical ground in the National Assembly.
Legislative sources confirmed that internal splits, defections, and procedural changes have weakened the opposition’s ability to challenge or delay bills, many of which are now passing with little debate.
Observers say the reshuffling of the judiciary and the erosion of SPLM-IO power in Parliament are connected—and indicative of a broader pattern of political domination ahead of the long-delayed elections tentatively scheduled for 2025.
“Salva Kiir is clearing the field,” said a senior AU diplomat in Juba, speaking anonymously due to diplomatic protocols.
“With Machar under house arrest and judicial leadership realigned, the path is being cleared for a one-sided electoral process.”
Civil society groups and legal advocates have raised alarm over the recent moves, warning that they undermine judicial independence and violate the spirit of the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement, which calls for political inclusivity and institutional balance.
“This is a blatant violation of the agreement,” said Nyachangkuoth Tai, a prominent human rights lawyer based in Juba.
“You cannot have peace if all arms of the state are aligned with one side of the conflict.”
The United Nations and regional blocs including IGAD have yet to respond formally, though officials involved in the peace monitoring process told All East Africa that “grave concern” is growing in diplomatic circles over South Sudan’s direction.
The latest power shifts come amid a worsening humanitarian crisis, with over 70 percent of the population requiring aid, and violence escalating in several parts of the country.
Critics argue that the government’s focus on internal power plays is deepening the suffering of ordinary South Sudanese.
In the streets of Juba, the reaction has been mixed—some expressing fatigue with elite power struggles, others voicing anxiety over the growing authoritarian trend.
“Every time we think peace is coming, they change the rules again,” said James Bol, a vendor near the Judiciary Complex.
“It’s like we are not part of the country.”
As South Sudan heads toward what is meant to be a democratic transition, President Kiir appears to be scripting a different playbook—one that positions him as the undisputed center of power in Africa’s youngest nation.
