The move was announced through a presidential decree read on state-run South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation on Wednesday night. Oyet, who also serves as Acting Chairman and Commander-in-Chief of the SPLM/A-IO, has been in exile for five months following Machar’s arrest and house detention earlier this year. Kiir appointed John Otto Marino to replace him in the capacity of an Eastern Equatoria State representative.
Oyet has long been one of the most outspoken critics of the Kiir administration, challenging its handling of political disputes and peace implementation. However, his absence from the country has effectively sidelined his voice in the legislature since March.
The decree also stripped Gai Mayen Luk of his parliamentary seat. Like Oyet, Gai has been in exile since Machar’s detention and has remained an unyielding critic of Kiir’s leadership.
In a parallel shake-up, Kiir dismissed Deng Deng Akoon as Speaker of the Council of States. Deng is regarded as one of the most senior SPLM-IO officials still loyal to Machar.
Another prominent casualty of the purge is Farouk Gatkouth, the SPLM-IO chief whip in parliament, who was known for challenging Kiir’s policies in heated legislative debates.
The sweeping changes extended further, with the removal of several other SPLM-IO figures: Regina Joseph Kaba, the party’s Secretary General; Matata Frank, a former SPLM-IO governor of Yei River State during the opposition’s self-declared “21 Bush States” period; and Daniel Juol Nhomngek, the MP representing Cueibet County in Lakes State.
While no official explanation was given for the dismissals, the targeted nature of the decree underscores the widening rift between Kiir’s SPLM faction and Machar’s loyalists. The reshuffle comes amid mounting tensions within South Sudan’s fragile transitional government, formed under the 2018 peace deal to end years of civil war.
The latest purge effectively consolidates Kiir’s influence in both the National Legislative Assembly and the Council of States, potentially weakening Machar’s political foothold as the country inches toward elections slated for December 2024—though the timetable remains in doubt amid ongoing security and political challenges.
The dismissals also followed the removal of Pal Mai Deng, Machar’s ally, who was serving as the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation.
Kiir subsequently appointed James Mawich Makuac, a member of a breakaway faction of the opposition SPLM-IO led by Stephen Par Kuol, as a replacement, a move critics say violates the 2018 peace agreement and exacerbates political divisions.
