South Sudan’s new First Vice President Taban Deng Gai was sworn in during an official ceremony in Juba on Tuesday. Taban Deng Gai, who had served as minister of mining and former chief negotiator of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO), attended the ceremony together with President Salva Kiir.
The move follows the decision of a faction of the SPLM-IO to elect Gai as acting First Vice President of South Sudan, replacing Riek Machar, whose whereabouts are unknown.
Machar, who deemed Gai’s appointment as illegal, fled Juba following deadly fighting that left hundreds of people dead earlier in July. He accused government forces of opening fire on his troops, and said he would return to the capital once a third party force is deployed to ensure his protection.
The appointment came in spite of Machar’s decision to dismiss Gai after accusing him of trying to defect to the SPLM faction headed by Salva Kiir. However, Gai denied he had been dismissed.