South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit has reinstated a senior petroleum official who was recently accused of leaking a confidential government request seeking a $2.5 billion advance payment from energy firms, state television reported on Tuesday.
In the latest in a string of swift personnel reshuffles, Dr. Chol Thon Abel has been reappointed undersecretary in the Ministry of Petroleum, replacing Eng. Deng Lual Wol. Since early November, the two officials have repeatedly swapped the same position, marking the third such change in less than a month.
The appointments are unfolding against the backdrop of fierce internal lobbying, controversy over a leaked ministry letter, and a broader purge targeting officials believed to be aligned with former Second Vice President Dr. Benjamin Bol Mel, who is currently under house arrest in Juba.
On 13 November, the Ministry of Petroleum issued an unsigned but officially stamped statement disowning letters that had been sent to two international oil companies requesting large advance payments. The ministry accused Dr. Chol of orchestrating the leak “for ulterior motives” and announced that an investigation and possible prosecution were underway.
President Kiir had earlier removed Dr. Chol from the undersecretary position on 10 November and reinstated Eng. Deng Lual Wol. The latest presidential decree, aired on the South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC), has once again reversed that decision, returning Dr. Chol to the role.
