On 12 November 2025, President Salva Kiir relieved controversial Vice President Benjamin Bol Mel. The latter was dismissed from his positions and other posts, such as the first deputy chairperson of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) Party. In a separate decree aired on the South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC), Bol was demoted from the rank of general to a private and discharged from the National Security Services (NSS), making him an ordinary citizen. He is the second SSPDF general to be demoted after General Stephen Buay Rolnayang.
In the wake of his summary dismissal and subsequent demotion from the ranks and file of NSS, Bol’s bodyguards were withdrawn before he was placed under house arrest in Juba. It is important to remember how fast he has come to where he was halted suddenly.
In February 2025, Bol was appointed to replace a long-time Vice President, James Wani Igga, who had occupied the position since 2013. In May 2025, he was again appointed to being the powerful first deputy chairman of the SPLM Party. Bol’s second appointment was crucial because it took him to a place where he was one step away from the president.
These particular moves were seen as an attempt to increase Bol’s chances of succeeding the ailing Kiir, who can hardly walk and talk in public fora. Bol was then elevated again and promoted to full general in the NSS. This bolstered his influence in the army structure.
In the unlikely event that the president opted to quit voluntarily or inadvertently, Bol could assume the latter’s seat in an acting capacity pending a national plebiscite.
Nonetheless, Bol’s promotions were laughable because he earned them without an iota of merit. Before his elevation to the above-mentioned positions, Bol had not held political office. So, this justifies the dismissive claim by those who described these promotions as a mockery. From the legal point of view, Bol’s promotion was a coup of the SPLM party constitution.
In fact, many thought that his promotions were destructive to the party and, by extension, the peace implementation process. As to his downfall, when you observe the steps and speed at which Bol was elevated from an ordinary businessman to vice president, you would know that he was not going far, nor was he going to stay for long as vice president.
In addition, even if he was allowed to ascend to chairmanship of the SPLM, and by extension the presidency, Bol could face it rough because he perfected the art of talking and doing things poorly without precaution. For instance, during the funeral prayer for late Gen. David Majur Dak in Juba, Bol gave an illegal order to the principals of Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution to the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCISS) that they must renounce their armed wings; failure of which they will face military action. On that very day, his statement reminded me of a legal principle known as ‘‘quo warranto’’ which means on whose authority was he talking. If his statement was the true position of the Government of South Sudan, the right person to make this pronouncement was President Kiir, along with the other peace partners. In fact, Bol’s summary denouncement of armed factions recognized by the agreement was a contributing factor to his downfall because he appeared as a usurper who must have been watched and warned, for he was a threat to the peace and unity of the people of South Sudan.
Benjamin Bol Mel’s meteoric rise and fall were debated and discussed at length. On 29 August 2025, a journalist with the Eastern African newspaper asked me, “Hi, a quick one, it is widely believed that Kiir is ailing, who is really calling the shots behind the scenes?”
“Is Adut Kiir part of the succession, and is she being positioned as a possible deputy to Bol Mel?” he probed.
I opined that Adut Salva Kiir was not in a position to succeed President Kiir, because the latter is not prepared to hand over power by now. If anything, as the presidential envoy on special programs, Adut will be used to tame or bring down Bol Mel, who falsely imagined that he was destined to succeed Kiir by attempting to thrash Dr. Riek Machar and his perceived Nuer community in opposition. There are signs that Kiir wants to die in office, and hence someone else, including Adut, can become his successor by accident.
I must add that Bol was loved and hated in equal measure. During his short stint in office, the tough-talking former vice president grew political horns to fight anyone, and the president was no exception. In less than a year, he rubbed shoulders with many powerful personalities, including First Vice President Dr. Machar, whose arrest and subsequent trial were attributed to Bol.
In the Sudans Post news article titled ‘Gov’t denies claim Bol Mel paid prosecutors $6,000 daily in Machar trial,’ we learned of very insightful details regarding the ongoing trial. A former parliamentarian, Juol Nhomngek, was reported to have made the aforementioned allegation. “Bol Mel not only housed the prosecution team in a Juba hotel, but also provided vehicles and substantial daily payments before his dismissal earlier this week,” Nhomngek stated at the time.
In their rebuttal, the government, through the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, refuted these claims as false and meant to divert public attention. As always, we, the public, do not trust the government of the day. It is just a matter of time, and we shall come to know who was telling the truth. When Bol was bulldozed into power against the wishes of senior SPLM Party members from his home turf, he devised a plan to fight and finish off Dr. Riek Machar and his perceived supporters, with the hope of attracting and enticing Machar’s political enemies to support him in return.
Historians will remember Bol Mel as a lethal vice president who instilled fear across the political divide. Unlike the detained Dr. Machar, Bol was brought down in just one day. Unfortunately, and fortunately, Bol fell in a manner that made him learn a lesson that he was a political lightweight being used as an attack dog.
War without blood
From the onset, Bol was brought to power to do one single job with one objective. He was propped to help the president fight his enemies, both real and imaginary. Unfortunately, in his effort to fight Kiir’s enemies, he breached Robert Greene’s book, ‘The 48 Laws of Power, ’ which says, “Never outshine the master.” Wittingly or unwittingly, Bol projected himself to look not just smarter, but more powerful than President Kiir by making anti-government statements arbitrarily. Of course, Kiir, being an old-school and octogenarian politician, might still be using that book by Robert Greene. More often than not, people are warned of leaders and politicians who still use ‘The 48 Laws of Power’ as their favorite book. Such individuals can take offence at anything, including honest advice.
In 2014, when I saw ‘The 48 Laws of Power’ on the table of Dr. Machar, I got worried to the point that I predicted the untimely purge of Gen. Peter Gatdet and others. In those early days of war, many people, particularly the Nuer, preferred meeting Gen. Gatdet more than Dr. Machar. The Nuer diaspora who traveled to Pagak always posed for pictures with Gatdet because he was more popular than Dr. Machar, owing to his historic defection from Kiir’s government following the Juba Nuer massacre in December 2013.
The late Gen. Gatdet had no idea and intention to replace Dr. Machar, but perhaps it was the former’s popularity and bravery that made the latter feel uneasy. At times, the proponents of Robert Greene’s ‘48 Laws of Power’ inculcated a paranoid culture that made people suspicious of anyone they deemed to be popular and progressive. Even though Bol was not progressive, he could become popular over time, given his financial muscle. In less than ten months as vice president, Bol succeeded in scuttling the frail and fragile SPLM political and military systems. He did this by scattering and scaring everyone away in a manner that made the president unpopular even within his home turf of the Bahr El Ghazal region. The defection of Nhial Deng Nhial to the United People’s Alliance (UPA) is a case in point.
When we made a post-Bol Mel analysis, one of my colleagues and fellow lawyer described President Kiir as being Machiavellian and thriving by using the “use and dump” theory. He then asked me if I had ever read Machiavelli’s book, “The Prince.” I responded that I have the book, but have not found the appetite to read it. I will read it in the future because it is an old book that talks about how to keep power, which I don’t have. As somebody in the trenches looking for people’s power, I only read a book titled ‘Rules for Radicals’ by Saul Alinsky. This book is considered to be an alternative to Machiavelli’s ‘The Prince.’
In chapter one of Rules for Radicals, Saul Alinsky says, “The Prince was written by Machiavelli for the haves on how to hold power. Rules for Radicals is written for the Have-nots on how to take it away. In this book we are concerned with how to create mass organizations to seize power and give it to the people; to realize the democratic dream of equality, justice, peace, co-operation, equal and full opportunities for education, full and useful employment, health and the creation of those circumstances in which man can have the chance to live by values that give meaning to life.’’
Principle of war applied
The fallout between Bol Mel and President Kiir is a political power struggle akin to the previous fallout between Kiir and former Chief of Staff Gen. Paul Malong Awan, alias King Paul, in 2017. Sadly, these recurring military and political developments in South Sudan justify the bible’s Job verse 7:1 that says the life of man upon earth is warfare. As we have seen and heard in the past, this is a mixed kind of political tussle that is fought using the principle of war.
In any event, politics and war follow the same principles. As such, Bol’s case was handled using the principles of war, which, of course, is normal. The war principles are captured in one acronym called MOOSE-MUSS. This stands for Mass, Objective, Offence, Simplicity, Economy, Strategic Maneuver, Unity of Command, Surprise, and Secrecy. Interestingly, all these principles of war are intertwined, for they are aimed at neutralizing and defeating the adversary. On 12 November 2025, Bol was caught off guard and put in a vulnerable condition in line with the war principle of surprise. Therefore, Bol was dismissed, demoted, and put under house arrest with the intention of preventing a counterattack.
The book called ‘Principles of War’, which was co-authored by Dr. Ricky Joyner and Jerry Boykin, says, “The surprise principle must be backed by sound planning, or you may suddenly find yourself surprised and at a disadvantage.”
The plan of dismissing and putting Bol behind bars is to defer or delay his fictitious presidential ambition by putting the blame on him for the mess that took place in Nasir and Ulang counties and other parts of South Sudan.
On 16 November 2025, during the controversial visit of Jonglei State Governor Dr. Riek Gai Kok Diang to Akobo County, an elderly woman was heard and seen praising
President Kiir for saving their lives by dismissing Bol, whom they suspected was the one ordering aerial bombardments of Nuer counties. However, it was not an allegation; Bol whispered the plans to drop bombs on Nuer white army zones during the late Majur Dak’s funeral held in Juba.
Gen. Buay’s demotion was more painful than Bol’s demotion
The demotion of Bol came nearly five years after Gen. Stephen Buay was demoted from general to private. The difference was that Buay’s demotion was made by a court-martial, whereas Bol’s was made through presidential decree.
In 2019, I thought nobody would be subjected to the same situation in South Sudan. I did some scholarly work on Buay’s case, and from my experience, it is not recommended regardless. However, there are more differences between the two demotions. In comparison, Buay’s demotion was more painful than Bol’s. At the onset, Buay was attacked and arrested before he was ferried to Juba in shackles. Upon arrival at Juba International Airport (JIA), he was manhandled while being paraded in front of cameras in an abusive manner that violated his rights. When Buay was attacked in Unity State, three of his innocent bodyguards were murdered in cold blood. Nonetheless, he did not fight back, nor did he resist the arrest. While in jail, he was denied food and other necessities for many days. This bad treatment was meant to starve him to death. Secondly, Buay was detained incommunicado against his constitutional right to a fair hearing. He spent about one year in custody before he appeared in front of the General Court Martial (GCM).
During the first trial, he was accused and charged with violating the SPLA Act’s articles 60, 61, and 67, which deal with treason, security, and disobeying orders from superior officers. During the trial, the first two charges of treason and security were dismissed due to lack of evidence. He remained with the third charge which they used to convict him. The GCM demoted him from the rank of general to private; dismissed him from SPLA (now SSPDF) military service, discharged him from the army, and sentenced him to one year in prison, starting with the date of his arrest, 31 May 2018. The sentence and penalty for disobeying orders from superior officers is short imprisonment and not demotion and dismissal from service. So, the question is, why did they demote him?
In comparison, Bol was stripped of the ranks that were donated to him through political patronage, unlike Buay, who earned his rank of general through sacrifices characterized by struggles, hard work, and hardship. Bol was put under house arrest, unlike Buay, who was detained under harsh conditions that have left physical and psychological scars. At the time of his unfair incarceration, Buay was not heard or seen to be harboring ambitions either to be president or governor, unlike Bol, who was alleged to be coveting Kiir’s seat.
In conclusion, General Stephen Buay loves South Sudan’s army more than himself. He is a glue that can bind and bring the South Sudanese together. His demotion and subsequent dismissal were a curse rather than a blessing. He has a reputation for being a uniting factor, and his zeal and resilience can be compared to none.
Professionally, he is a certified army general who wanted to carry South Sudan’s army on his back to modernity. In fact, his continuing rebellion and active membership of the United People’s Alliance (UPA) were necessitated by his desire to reform and reorganize the disorganized and disoriented South Sudan army now and in the future.
The writer is a lawyer and a criminologist by profession. He was a former delegate to the High-Level Mediation for South Sudan, alias Tumaini Peace Initiative, where he represented SSPM as its national chairperson for legal and constitutional affairs. He can be reached for comments via eligodakb@gmail.com.
The views expressed in ‘opinion’ articles published by Radio Tamazuj are solely those of the writer. The veracity of any claims made is the responsibility of the author, not Radio Tamazuj.