South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit has dismissed the deputy intelligence chief for finance, replacing him with a close ally, state broadcaster SSBC reported Friday.
The dismissal of Lt. General Louis Natale Fingi, the deputy head of the controversial internal security bureau of the National Security Service (NSS), came two weeks after the sacking of his former boss, Gen. Akol Koor Kuc.
In another decree, Kiir appointed Lt. Gen. Charles Chiek Mayar as the new Deputy Director General for Finance and Administration of the Internal Security Bureau (ISB).
Analysts say the decision to sack top security officials reflects a power struggle at the highest levels of the government.
“President Salva Kiir’s decision to sack former Director General of the Internal Security Bureau (ISB) of the National Security Service (NSS), Gen. Akol Koor Kuc and Presidential Guard Commander Gen. Lual Wek was informed by persistent rumours of the duo’s alleged involvement coup plots,” political analyst Prof. Jok Madut Jok told Radio Tamazuj Wednesday.
“The president has become very weary of officers who criticize his leadership,” Prof. Madut added.
Since 2011, activities of the Internal Security Bureau of the National Security Service have gone far beyond their original remit, largely unchecked. This has created a vicious cycle in which a highly militarized agency has gained ever more power and wielded it with increasing brutality.
According to reports, South Sudan’s National Security Service stands out as particularly ruthless, secretive, and well-funded. Fear of the NSS is pervasive in the country. Its personnel have been involved in widespread human rights abuses, including kidnapping, torture, and illegal detention.
The NSS has also interfered with civil society and the independent media and detained and silenced those who spoke out against the government.