IN A statement read out on South Sudanese television on July 23rd, President Salva Kiir (pictured), a former guerrilla commander with a penchant for cowboy hats, dissolved his cabinet, fired his vice-president and deposed the chairman of the ruling party. The political crisis has blown up only a fortnight after the country’s second birthday, which was overshadowed by an
open letter from Western backers bemoaning corruption and human rights abuses, warning that the country is veering off course. Meanwhile, an ongoing row with Sudan has halted oil production, which provides most of Mr Kiir’s budget. The north accuses him of supporting rebels inside its territory, a charge he denies.
Few observers had expected such a dramatic response from the president. Behind it lies a fierce power struggle inside the ruling party. The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) grew out of the guerrilla army that fought a 20-year civil war with the Sudan government. It has struggled with the transition to civilian rule and is riven with ethnic divisions, including between Mr Kiir’s Dinka and the Nuer led by vice-president, Riek Machar. He openly covets the top job and Mr Kiir
clipped his wings in April. The wholesale clear-out now avoids the impression that the Nuer are targeted specifically. Mr Machar responded to his exit from government by calling for calm and saying he had “chosen to handle everything politically”.
The pair previously fought each other with disastrous consequences. Mr Machar deserted the southern guerrilla army midway through its battle with the north, which led to murderous clashes between Nuer and Dinka remembered by many as the “civil war within the civil war”. This period, which included an alliance with Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, is seen as unforgivable to many southerners. Any hopes of resolving the oil impasse have been set back by the firing of Pagan Amum, chairman of the SPLM and its lead negotiator with the north. He has been accused of corruption, a charge that has dogged many senior government figures. A leaked World Bank report last year suggested that as much as $4 billion had been lost to graft in the fledgling state.
Mr Kiir’s dismissal of his government also caught Western diplomats by surprise revealing their waning influence despite the aid dollars and political support that fuelled the south’s bid for secession. Under the terms of the constitution the president has the power to dissolve the government and many of the sacked ministers may yet return but Mr Kiir must show the same swiftness in laying out his plans for a new government.
@ me thinking this was going to be about Sudan, trying to get their North Korea on...
