General James Ajongo Mawut has been sworn in as the new SPLA chief of general staff by President Salva Kiir during a ceremony at J1 today, May 10.

General Mawut replaces Paul Malong Awan who left Juba shortly after being removed by Kiir on Tuesday evening.

Moments after taking the oath of office, the new army chief thanked President Kiir for appointing him to lead the army.

“I know it is a difficult task given the fact that the country is in conflict with itself, but making use of good human resources in my team, I will be able to manage the situation and exit from this conflict,” said Jongo.

The army chief assured the people of South Sudan that the situation is normal and that the SPLA army has a constitutional mandate to protect its people.

Meanwhile, Ater Achuil Chol, representative of the Aweil leaders, thanked President Kiir for appointing James Ajongo as the new army chief.

“I am talking on behave of the leaders of Aweil. We thank the president for appointing our son James Ajongo as SPLA chief of staff, so we are very grateful, we stand behind our son to unite the forces to work for the unity of this country,” he said.