South Sudan President Salva Kiir dismissed Vice President Benjamin Bol Mel from his position on Wednesday, through a presidential decree broadcast on state television, also stripping him of his military rank and removing him as deputy leader of the ruling party.

NTV Kenya

BBC News

South Sudan President Salva Kiir dismissed Vice President Benjamin Bol Mel from his position on Wednesday, through a presidential decree broadcast on state television, also stripping him of his military rank and removing him as deputy leader of the ruling party.

Bol Mel had been appointed vice president in February 2025 and was widely considered a potential successor to the 74-year-old Kiir, having been elevated to first deputy chairman of the ruling SPLM party in May and promoted to general rank in September.</span

TRT Afrika

Africanews

Youtube

Bol Mel had been appointed vice president in February 2025 and was widely considered a potential successor to the 74-year-old Kiir, having been elevated to first deputy chairman of the ruling SPLM party in May and promoted to general rank in September.

The dismissed vice president has been under United States sanctions since 2017 for alleged corruption, with a U.N. report accusing companies affiliated with him of receiving $1.7 billion for road construction work under the "Oil for Roads" initiative that was never completed.

Reuters

OHCHR

The dismissed vice president has been under United States sanctions since 2017 for alleged corruption, with a U.N. report accusing companies affiliated with him of receiving $1.7 billion for road construction work under the "Oil for Roads" initiative that was never completed.

President Kiir also dismissed the central bank governor and head of the national revenue authority, both considered close allies of Bol Mel, as part of the same decree that provided no official explanation for the removals.

Radio Tamazuj

President Kiir also dismissed the central bank governor and head of the national revenue authority, both considered close allies of Bol Mel, as part of the same decree that provided no official explanation for the removals.

The dismissals occurred amid growing political instability in South Sudan, where First Vice President Riek Machar was arrested in March and charged with treason, murder and crimes against humanity following deadly violence earlier this year.</span

Guardian

The Tanzania Times

The dismissals occurred amid growing political instability in South Sudan, where First Vice President Riek Machar was arrested in March and charged with treason, murder and crimes against humanity following deadly violence earlier this year.

South Sudan's U.N. ambassador reaffirmed the government's commitment to the 2018 peace agreement while U.N. officials warned the country faces escalating violence and potential return to civil war, with elections planned for December 2026.

Anadolu Ajansı

South Sudan's U.N. ambassador reaffirmed the government's commitment to the 2018 peace agreement while U.N. officials warned the country faces escalating violence and potential return to civil war, with elections planned for December 2026.

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President Kiir's decisive actions to remove corrupt officials like Benjamin Bol Mel demonstrate strong leadership aimed at restoring accountability and order to South Sudan's government. These strategic dismissals target state-linked power networks that have undermined centralized authority and obstructed crucial reforms needed for peace implementation. The moves have been overwhelmingly celebrated by citizens who recognize them as necessary steps toward fighting corruption and building genuine democratic institutions.

President Kiir's decisive actions to remove corrupt officials like Benjamin Bol Mel demonstrate strong leadership aimed at restoring accountability and order to South Sudan's government. These strategic dismissals target state-linked power networks that have undermined centralized authority and obstructed crucial reforms needed for peace implementation. The moves have been overwhelmingly celebrated by citizens who recognize them as necessary steps toward fighting corruption and building genuine democratic institutions.</span

Activists: Kiirs firing of Bol Mel is to regain authority

South Sudan reaffirms commitment to 2018 peace deal at UN Security Council

President Kiir's prosecution of Riek Machar represents a dangerous dismantling of South Sudan's fragile peace agreement that risks plunging the nation back into devastating civil war. The charges stem from escalating tensions following the Nasir attack, but prosecuting the vice-president effectively abrogates the 2018 peace deal that ended years of bloodshed. This reckless move threatens to restart ethnic violence between Dinka and Nuer communities while sending 300,000 refugees fleeing the country.

President Kiir's prosecution of Riek Machar represents a dangerous dismantling of South Sudan's fragile peace agreement that risks plunging the nation back into devastating civil war. The charges stem from escalating tensions following the Nasir attack, but prosecuting the vice-president effectively abrogates the 2018 peace deal that ended years of bloodshed. This reckless move threatens to restart ethnic violence between Dinka and Nuer communities while sending 300,000 refugees fleeing the country.</span

Prosecution of South Sudans vice-president raises fears of return to full-scale civil war

ChimpReports

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South Sudans Kiir Fires Powerful VP Bol Mel

There is a 51 percent chance of a successful coup in Africa or Latin America before February 1, 2026, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

There is a 51 percent chance of a successful coup in Africa or Latin America before February 1, 2026, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

Metaculus

Metaculus #

Will there be a successful coup in Africa or Latin America by February 1, 2026?

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South Sudan President Fires VP Amid Political Crisis

South Sudan

Africa

Politics

Kiir’s removal of Bol Mel, masked as an anti-corruption crusade, lays bare South Sudan’s enduring cycle of repression, deceit, and fear. Like the purge of Riek Machar that once reignited civil war, it signals a regime where loyalty eclipses law, and dissent is treated as treason. Each purge fractures the fragile peace, each trial widens the gulf between ruler and ruled. The nation drifts toward isolation, its institutions hollowed out, its hope for reconciliation fading under the weight of Kiir’s tightening grip on power.

Kiir’s removal of Bol Mel, masked as an anti-corruption crusade, lays bare South Sudan’s enduring cycle of repression, deceit, and fear. Like the purge of Riek Machar that once reignited civil war, it signals a regime where loyalty eclipses law, and dissent is treated as treason. Each purge fractures the fragile peace, each trial widens the gulf between ruler and ruled. The nation drifts toward isolation, its institutions hollowed out, its hope for reconciliation fading under the weight of Kiir’s tightening grip on power.

South Sudan President Fires VP Bol Mel

South Sudan President Fires VP AmidBol Political CrisisMel

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South Sudan President Fires VP Bol Mel

South Sudan President Fires VP AmidBol Political CrisisMel

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