South Sudan’s parliament on Friday lifted the immunity of two lawmakers accused of forging President Salva Kiir’s signature and unlawfully using presidential symbols of authority, clearing the way for criminal investigations and possible prosecution.
The decision was taken during an extraordinary sitting of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly after it received separate requests from the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and the Office of the President seeking the removal of immunity to allow investigations to proceed.
The lawmakers are Kom Kom Geng, chairperson of the parliamentary committee for security and public order, and Ayii Ayii Akol. Both represent Northern Bahr el Ghazal state. Ayii Ayii Akol is the brother of Vice President for the Service Cluster Hussein Abdelbagi Akol.
Both MPs were arrested by national security in Juba on Monday May 11.
During Friday’s session, Speaker Joseph Ngere Paciko tabled the correspondence, saying he opted to present the documents himself as they were addressed directly to his office.
“So, agenda number 4, order of the day number 4, I will present it,” Paciko said before proceeding.
Reading a letter dated May 13, 2026, from the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, the Speaker said the two lawmakers were “facing criminal charges” under case number 1891/2026, citing provisions of the Penal Code Act 2008 relating to forgery and other offences.
The ministry described the case as urgent, saying: “It is worth mentioning that this is a serious matter of concern that should be treated with utmost urgency.”
It further requested that parliament “lift their immunity in accordance with Article 67 of the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan 2011 as amended, so that they may be held in custody and investigated accordingly.”
Paciko also read a separate letter from President Salva Kiir Mayardit dated May 10, 2026, which described the alleged conduct as a threat to state security and the integrity of presidential authority.
“This letter brings to your attention a matter of grave concern involving the integrity of the symbols of presidential authority and the security of the state,” Kiir wrote.
The president said “credible intelligence reports” had linked Kom Kom Geng and Ayii Ayii Akol to the “criminal fabrication and forgery of a presidential directive” intended to subvert the rule of law and interfere with an ongoing judicial investigation involving Dr. Benjamin Bol Mel and other accused persons.
Kiir added: “These individuals forged my signature, when it is clearly known that the unauthorized use of presidential symbols of authority is a serious felony under Sections 357, 359, 361 and 362 of the Penal Code Act 2008.”
Invoking Article 67(2) of the Transitional Constitution, the president urged parliament to “expeditiously waive the immunity of the aforementioned members,” saying the move was necessary to enable “immediate apprehension, interrogation and prosecution.”
“This waiver is essential to permit the relevant law enforcement agencies to proceed with apprehension, interrogation and subsequent prosecution before a court of law,” the letter stated.
Lawmakers said the matter was straightforward and should be handled in accordance with the law.
“Right Honorable Speaker, the case is very clear and so in accordance with our law, we need to waive the immunity so that our brothers go and answer,” one lawmaker said. “It is not a strange thing; it is a normal thing.”
Under Article 67 of the Transitional Constitution, members of parliament are immune from arrest and prosecution unless their immunity is lifted by the legislature, except in cases where a member is caught committing an offence that permits arrest without a warrant.
The constitution further allows parliament to waive immunity where a member is charged with a serious criminal offence.
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