South Sudan President Salva Kiir Wednesday evening sacked the deputy governor of Jonglei State amid simmering tension among SPLM party members in the state.
President Kiir, in a republican decree, read out on state-owned media in Juba, replaced Antipas Nyok Kucha with Jacob Akech Dengdit as the deputy governor of Jonglei State. Nyok was also the chairperson of the SPLM party in the state.
The president gave no reason for firing Mr Nyok, but there had been tension among the SPLM party members in the state.
In July 2021, a group calling itself the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) Party Senior Representatives in the Jonglei State capital, Bor town, called for the removal of the state party leader, Antipas Nyok.
The tension started after a group within the SPLM party in the state petitioned President Salva Kiir to sack Antipas Nyok over alleged incompetence, incitement, and division mongering.
About 30 members of the disgruntled group were later arrested by the police, but have since been released on bail without charges.