BREAKING: President Sacks Army Chief, Others

President has sacked Army Chief and others.

OnyxNews Nigeria reports that President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir has sacked the country’s Army chief, Johnson Juma Okot.

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir attends a one-day summit on oil on September 3, 2013 in Khartoum. Sudan and South Sudan averted a shutdown of economically vital oil flows and again pledged to implement economic and security pacts that have twice failed to take effect. AFP PHOTO / ASHRAF SHAZLY (Photo credit should read ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP/Getty Images)

President Salva Kiir also sacked three other senior intelligence officers.

Kiir announced the sack on Saturday, April 10, in a decree aired on State television (SSBC).

He replaced Okot with Santino Deng Wol.

Okot was appointed chief of South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) in May 2020 to replace Gabriel Riak Jok.

No reasons were given for the sack by the presidency.

Kiir also replaced Nhial Deng Nhial as minister of presidential affairs with Barnaba Marial Benjamin.

Benjamin, before appointed the minister of presidential affairs, had been the lead negotiator of the government in talks with hold-out opposition groups in Rome, Italy.

These opposition groups refused to sign the 2018 revitalized peace agreement in Ethiopia.

Kiir also sacked Reuben Malek, deputy minister of defense and veterans affairs replacing him with Chol Thon Balok.

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The president also sacked the director-general of external intelligence Thomas Duoth, who he replaced with Simon Yien Makuac.