South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit has dismissed Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Ramadan Abdallah Goc nearly a year after his appointment.
In a presidential decree broadcast Wednesday evening on the state-run South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC), Kiir named Monday Semaya Kumba as the new foreign minister.
The president did not provide a reason for the change.
Before his appointment, Semaya served as deputy foreign minister. He previously served as South Sudan’s ambassador to China before being promoted to deputy foreign minister in April 2024.
The foreign ministry shake-up comes a day after the government bowed to pressure and allowed a foreign national entry into the country. The initial refusal to admit the individual prompted the United States to revoke visas for all South Sudanese citizens.
Congolese national Makula Kintu was accepted into the country “in the spirit of maintaining friendly relations” between South Sudan and the U.S., foreign ministry spokesperson Apuk Ayuel Mayen said.
Last Friday, South Sudanese officials refused entry to Kintu, who had been deported from the United States, accusing him of illegally using travel documents belonging to South Sudanese national Nimeri Garang.
The following day, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the U.S. would revoke all visas for South Sudanese citizens, citing the country’s failure to accept the return of its citizens deported from the United States “in a timely manner.”