South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Monday night dismissed Higher Education Minister Madut Biar Yel and appointed Changkuoth Bichiok Reath as his replacement, according to a presidential decree.
The decree, broadcast on the state-run South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC), removed Madut Biar Yel as minister of higher education and appointed Changkuoth Bichiok Reath to the post.
In a separate decree, Kiir appointed Madut Biar Yel as Presidential Envoy for the Great Lakes Region, a post previously held by Foreign Affairs Minister James Pitia Morgan.
The decrees did not give a reason for the changes.
Madut Biar Yel was appointed Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology by President Kiir during a cabinet reshuffle in May 2025.
Madut Biar Yel is a member of the Former Detainees (FDs), one of the parties that signed the 2018 peace agreement. Under the power sharing arrangement, he has long represented the FDs in the transitional government.
Changkuoth Bichiok Reath is affiliated with a faction of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) aligned with Vice President for the Services Cluster Hussein Abdelbagi Akol, a grouping widely viewed as being close to Kiir’s ruling SPLM.
The 2018 peace agreement gives the president the authority to appoint and dismiss national and state government officials. Under the agreement, however, the president is expected to obtain the consent of a political party’s leadership before replacing officials allocated to that party, although such changes have at times been made without prior consultation.
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