JUBA – South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has dismissed Upper Nile State Governor James Odhok Oyai and named General James Koang Chuol as his replacement; a decision the opposition says breaches the 2018 revitalized peace agreement.
The move was announced via a presidential decree on state broadcaster South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC). Koang, a former opposition general who defected to the government in 2020, takes over a post that the peace deal had allocated to the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO).
“The decision… constitutes another unilateral action and a severe violation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement,” said SPLM-IO spokesman Puok Both Baluang. “It is evident that the SPLM-IG is no longer respecting the agreement.”
Koang, originally from Nasir County—a hotspot for clashes between the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and the White Army, a militia with ties to the SPLM-IO—assumes office amid rising violence in the region.
Civil society activist Edmund Yakani warned that the change signals the potential demise of the R-ARCSS, casting doubt on the transitional government’s commitment to holding elections in 2026.
The SSPDF, supported by Ugandan troops, has recently conducted airstrikes in Upper Nile, including Nasir, in an attempt to reclaim the town from the White Army, which seized control on March 4.
The opposition has condemned the decision, arguing that it could destabilize the region and jeopardize the fragile peace process.
