SOUTH SUDAN TRANSITION: Kiir Appoints New Army Chief

The new development comes at a time when Salva Kiir is making several changes ahead of the general elections expected in December next year

South Sudan President, Salva Kiir has appointed Gen. Dau Aturjong Nyuol, formerly SPLA-IO, as the new chief of the South Sudan Defense Forces (SSDF).

A presidential decree announced on the national broadcaster, SSBC on Monday evening, relieved the former army chief Gen. Paul Nang Majok, who had served for only seven months since his appointment in December 2024.

No new assignment or reason for relieving Gen. Nang has been given.

The same Monday decree appointed Michael Lopuke Lotyam as the new chairman of the South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority and Gola Boyoi as the chief administrator of the Greater Pibor Administrative Area, replacing Peter Guzulu Maze.

President Salva Kiir also appointed Evans Kenyi Solomon as a technical adviser to the Ministry of Agriculture.

The new army chief, Gen. Aturjong was in the SPLA-in-opposition, led by the First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar, when the first civil war broke out in South Sudan in December 2013.

A former SPLA commander and prominent figure from the Bahr el Ghazal region, Aturjong returned to the mainstream SPLA after the first peace agreement in 2015 and the consequent formation of the Transitional Government of National Unity.

General Majok, a veteran officer who assumed the role in 2022, had been overseeing efforts to unify rival armed groups into a single national army — a critical pillar of the peace deal.

His sudden dismissal raises questions about the internal cohesion of the SSPDF and the government’s commitment to long-delayed security arrangements.

The new development comes at a time when Salva Kiir is making several changes ahead of the general elections expected in December next year.

Just two weeks ago, Kiir fired the former vice president, Dr. James Wani Igga from the position of the Secretary General of the ruling SPLM party and replaced him with Paul Lagole, a veteran politician and academia hailing from the Central Equatoria State.

Baba Medan Konyi was also named as the SPLM’s second deputy secretary general in charge of administration and finance