Africa-Press – South-Sudan. South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Friday dismissed the undersecretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and appointed Agum Awet Akot, the daughter of a former ruling party official, as her replacement.
A presidential decree, broadcast on state-owned South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC), removed Debora Akec from the post. Agum’s father, Gen. Daniel Awet Akot, was ousted by Kiir in May as the second deputy chairman of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM). A liberation war veteran, Awet had held various government positions before his removal.
The move follows a pattern of Kiir appointing children of former comrades to key roles. In March, he named Atong Kuol Manyang, daughter of veteran politician Gen. Kuol Manyang Juuk, as national minister of trade.
Observers have raised concerns over the trend of promoting relatives of liberation-era figures.
“If this is how he intends to reward the sons and daughters of former liberators, then this is not how the country should be run,” said Ter Manyang Gatwech, a prominent civil society activist. “They should have the qualifications and merit to fit such positions.”
He added: “This is how they will reward them. Seeing them enter one by one is not surprising—in the coming days or months, South Sudanese will see more new faces as they try to reward SPLM leaders, especially those recently removed.”
In May, Kiir reshuffled top SPLM roles, replacing Daniel Awet Akot as second deputy chairperson and Kuol Manyang Juuk as third deputy chairperson. Mary Apai Ayiga and Simon Kun Puoch, former governor of Upper Nile State, were appointed to the respective positions.
Additional decrees revoked James Wani Igga’s roles as secretary-general and first deputy chairman of the ruling party.
South Sudan has not held national elections since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011 after decades of conflict.
Kiir has led South Sudan since 2005, first as president of the semi-autonomous Government of Southern Sudan and then as president of the independent Republic of South Sudan from 2011.
He assumed leadership of the southern government in August 2005 following the death of John Garang and became president of the newly independent nation in July 2011.
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