South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Friday night issued a decree dismissing Health Minister Sarah Cleto Rial and appointing Luk Thomson Thoan as her replacement.
In a decree read on state-run South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC), Kiir replaced Cleto, a member of the SPLM-IO faction led by peace minister Stephen Par Kuol.
It remains unclear why Kiir dismissed Cleto, who had been appointed in May 2025.
The reshuffle comes days after the U.S. Embassy in Juba directed all U.S.-funded projects and implementing partners to immediately withdraw laboratory personnel and equipment from the National Public Health Laboratory (NPHI) in Juba.
A letter from the embassy to the foreign ministry, dated March 24 and seen by Radio Tamazuj, said an unnamed official known for diverting aid had taken over the NPHI facility and that soldiers were occupying it.
The foreign ministry confirmed receipt of the letter.
“We have just received the letter and it will be discussed with the concerned ministry so that the issue is addressed,” foreign ministry spokesperson Thomas Kenneth said.
Earlier in the day, Kiir also dismissed the undersecretary in the health ministry, Dr. Kennedy Gaaniko, replacing him with Dr. Oromo Francis Seriano.
The health ministry portfolio belongs to the SPLM-IO under the 2018 power-sharing agreement, which has been weakened by delays in implementation, repeated ceasefire violations and disputes between Kiir and his rival Riek Machar.
Machar has been suspended as first vice president, placed under house arrest and is facing treason charges before a special court in Juba.
Kiir’s camp is currently implementing the 2018 peace deal with the SPLM-IO faction led by Stephen Par Kuol, formed in April 2025 following Machar’s house arrest.
In separate decrees, Kiir dismissed Wieu Sifano Mialek as chief administrator of the Ruweng Administrative Area and appointed Daniel Makuei Thiyeer as his successor. Mialek had been appointed in April 2025.
It is unclear whether Mialek’s dismissal is linked to recent violence in Abiemnhom County in Ruweng.
The move comes nearly a month after a massacre in Abiemnhom County, where armed youth suspected to have come from Mayom County in Unity State attacked the area, killing more than 200 people, including soldiers.
Earlier this week, Kiir also dismissed Unity State governor Justice Riek Bim Top and appointed Dr. Joseph Nguen Monytuil as his replacement.
He further dismissed Yien Gach, a member of the SPLM-IO faction, as deputy minister of finance and planning, replacing him with Thok Turuk, and removed Garang Tong Aken Akech as deputy minister of cabinet affairs, appointing Alier Samuel Ateny in his place.
Under the 2018 peace agreement, the president has the authority to appoint and remove officials at both national and state levels.