South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit has removed long-serving Minister of Cabinet Affairs Martin Elia Lomuro and appointed Warrap State Governor Bol Wek Agoth to replace him.
The presidential decrees, broadcast by state-owned South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC) on Wednesday night, also appointed Hussein Abdelbagi Akol as presidential adviser for international relations and foreign affairs, replacing Costello Garang Riiny. Angelo Ngot Mayar was named caretaker governor of Warrap, replacing Bok Wek.
The reshuffle comes as South Sudan prepares for elections scheduled for Dec. 22, 2026, amid concerns about inadequate preparations and a tight electoral timeline.
Boboya James Edimond, a political analyst, told Radio Tamazuj that Lomuro’s removal is significant given his longstanding role in government coordination.
Edimond said Lomuro had been influential in government arrangements, including the national dialogue, which he criticised for failing to produce publicly available resolutions to guide the country’s political transition. He also cited the absence of a permanent constitution, incomplete unification of armed forces and concerns about electoral preparations.
Kiir dissolved the transitional government on Sept. 22, appointing Lomuro caretaker minister of Cabinet Affairs. The ministry coordinates government business.
On Oct. 20, Lomuro issued an order assigning acting ministers to oversee ministries without substantive caretaker ministers. Edimond suggested the move may have contributed to tensions within the presidency, although no official statement has linked it to Lomuro’s removal.
Lomuro’s career
Lomuro began his ministerial career in October 2005 in the autonomous Government of Southern Sudan, following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between Sudan’s government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).
Kiir appointed him minister of agriculture and forestry. Lomuro later served as minister of animal resources and fisheries before taking over the Cabinet Affairs portfolio in July 2013. He returned to the post in April 2016 and March 2020, and was reappointed caretaker minister in September 2026.
Lomuro founded the South Sudan Democratic Forum, which later evolved into the National Agenda, a registered political party. Despite leading a separate party, he was closely aligned with Kiir’s faction of the ruling SPLM.
He also represented the government in peace negotiations. He led its delegation to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development-led revitalisation talks in 2017 and 2018 and was appointed rapporteur of the government delegation to Kenya’s Tumaini Initiative in 2024. The initiative sought to bring opposition groups outside the 2018 peace agreement into a political settlement.
In 2026, Lomuro served as rapporteur of a committee preparing for inter-party dialogue ahead of the elections, covering electoral and constitutional issues, governance, security and civic space.
In December 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Lomuro, accusing him of actions that obstructed reconciliation and prolonged South Sudan’s conflict.
Lomuro’s career spans the autonomous administration established under the 2005 peace agreement, South Sudan’s independence in 2011, the civil war and successive transitional governments.
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