South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has dismissed the undersecretary at the Ministry of Petroleum just a week after appointing him, in the latest shake-up in the country’s sensitive oil sector.
The undersecretary is the highest-ranking official managing the ministry since Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chuol was detained in March and later charged with treason. Kang, a key ally of suspended First Vice President Riek Machar, is being tried before a special court in Juba.
State broadcaster SSBC announced late on Monday that Kiir had relieved Eng. Chol Thon Abel of his duties and reinstated Eng. Deng Lual Wol, who was dismissed from the same post last week.
In a separate decree, Kiir reassigned Chol Thon as technical advisor at the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation.
No reason was given for the abrupt reshuffle.
The Ministry of Petroleum, allocated to Machar’s SPLM-IO under the 2018 power-sharing deal, has been plagued by instability amid deep political divisions and regional tensions affecting oil exports.
Last week, before his reinstatement, Deng Lual said South Sudan had received a formal warning from Sudan that continued drone attacks by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on oil installations could force Khartoum to halt the flow of South Sudanese crude through its pipelines to Port Sudan.
“The Sudanese authorities have cautioned us that if these drone attacks continue, they may be compelled to shut down the pipeline for safety reasons,” Deng said.
Deng Lual, a mechanical engineer with more than 16 years of experience in petroleum infrastructure and energy systems, has previously held senior technical and managerial positions in the oil industry, including roles in refineries, pipelines and storage facilities.
Chol Thon, a civil engineer and technocrat, formerly served as managing director of the state oil firm Nile Petroleum Corporation (Nilepet) and as undersecretary in the petroleum ministry. He holds a PhD in Water Supply Engineering from Delft University of Technology and the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education in the Netherlands.
Policy analyst James Boboya Edmund told Radio Tamazuj that the rapid turnover in the petroleum minister reflects “a reshuffle driven by lobbying and inner circles rather than national priorities.”
“The ministry has become a battleground for political influence,” Boboya said. “With drone attacks threatening oil exports and the minister on trial, power struggles are crippling the ministry’s ability to function.”
He said politically motivated appointments were undermining governance and transparency.
“Such cycles of influence and lobbying weaken institutions, deter investment and threaten the delivery of basic services,” he added.
Kiir has led a transitional government since South Sudan’s independence from Sudan in 2011. National elections have been delayed twice.
Machar — his longtime rival during the 2013–2018 civil war — remains suspended and faces treason charges along with seven co-accused in Juba.