Yesterday, President Kirr issued a decree on state-run TV promoting Chol Thon as Minister of Defense and Veteran Affairs. Mr. Chol, who previously served as a deputy to the former Minister, has now been appointed as the head of the country’s Ministry of Defense.

Last month, President Kirr and Dr. Machar had a disagreement over the swapping of the Ministry of Defense and Veteran Affairs and the removal of Hon. Angelina Teny without consulting the SPM IO party, as stated in Article 1.13.1. This article gives each party to the agreement the power to select or remove its representatives in the Council of Ministers and nominate replacements by notifying the president.

On March 4th, the SPLM IO political bureau met to deliberate on the Republican decree issued by the president, in which he unilaterally removed the Minister of Defense and Veteran Affairs with a Republican order. According to Article 1.12.1 of the Agreement, the parties are required to agree on the allocation of ministerial portfolios in the RTGONU before any removals can take place.