In South Sudan, the prospect of elections, due to be held in December this year, appears to be fueling rivalries and maneuvering within the political class. The 2018 peace agreement allowed power sharing between the different camps in conflict since the start of the civil war in 2013.
The current government, at the national, regional and local level, is the result of a distribution of positions between the different parties: those of President Salva Kiir and Vice-President Riek Machar, but not only that. Other political forces have joined the peace process, such as SSOA, the South Sudan Opposition Alliance, a coalition of eight opposition parties, which notably obtained the post of governor of Jonglei State. . It is Denay Chagor, an opposition figure who has been making headlines in recent days, even though he has held this position since 2020. Removed from office on Wednesday May 29 by President Salva Kiir, he rejects this decision.
Struggle for influence
To contest his ouster, Denay Chagor is trying to mobilize his allies within the South Sudan Opposition Alliance. He believes that the internal operating rules were not respected. And he accuses Vice-President Hussein Abdelbagi, a member of the alliance and the National Democratic Movement (NDM), of having influenced President Salva Kiir to take “a unilateral decision”. And this in order to marginalize him and his political party, the South Sudan United Movement (SSUM).
It is in this context that this Friday at the end of the day, shots rang out in the governor’s house, in Bor, the capital of Jonglei state. Guards of the deposed governor, Denay Chagor, broke into the residence’s armory, stole weapons, fired into the air, before fleeing. In this region familiar with armed rebellions, led by disgraced leaders, concern quickly spread.
But this is not the case, assured the ex-governor, currently in Juba and contacted by RFI. A statement from the Jonglei Ministry of Information also confirms that calm reigns in Bor. The new governor, Mahjuob Biel Turuk, a member of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance and the National Democratic Movement (NDM), took office on Friday May 31.
