South Sudan president Salva Kiir has fired the speaker and deputy speaker of the country’s parliament, according to a decree issued on Tuesday and reported by Reuters.
Former speaker Jemma Nunu Kumba is a member of Salva Kiir’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement( SPLM) party and a close ally of the president.
She had served as speaker of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly since 2021 and was the first woman to preside over South Sudan’s parliament.
The dismissal of the speaker and her deputy, Permena Awerial Aluong, comes after SPLM parliamentary caucus members filed a petition last week, expressing concerns over Kumba’s leadership.
Several MPs accused the then-speaker of corruption related to the alleged mismanagement of parliamentary funds and demanded her removal.
In a statement on Sunday, two days before her firing, Kumba reaffirmed her commitment to South Sudan’s constitution and to the revitalized peace agreement on the resolution of the conflict in the country.
“The Office of the Speaker has taken note of the concerns raised and stands ready to address these matters through the institutional channels,” the statement read.
Salva Kiir appointed Joseph Ngere Paciko and Abuk Paiti Ayiik as the new speaker and deputy speaker of parliament.
This change in parliament leadership comes after the president in late February abruptly fired the then Finance Minister Bak Barnaba Chol, with no explanation. He had been in office for just three months.
