Juba, 16 February 2018: South Sudan's incumbent President Salva Kiir in unprecedented decree read on state owned South Sudan Broadcast Corporation [SSBC] on Friday evening fired Yei River State Governor Col David Lokonga Moses. There was no apparent reason given for firing Lokonga, Former Governor Lokonga has been on the job barely a year ago. Lokonga served as information Minister in Central Equatoria state under the leadership former Governor Lt general Clement Wani Konga. 

David Lokonga was the first unelected governor of Yei River state created by presidential decree in October 2015. David Lokonga Moses was replaced by Emmanuel Adil Anthony who is obviously very unknown face in the state politics. 

In the similar decree issued on Tuesday evening, president Kiir removed the state governor of Tonj, governor Akech Tong Aleu. Akech was replaced by Madut Bol. 

Meanwhile the president also removed the country's chief of police. Lt General Saeed Chawual Lom who was appointed to the country's top police job in March 2017. he has only been on the job for closely to 11 months. The President, in related decree appointed general Majak Akech Malok as a replacement of  the fired police chief Gen Saeed Chawul. 

The President also removed several ambassadors from service in the ministry of foreign affairs including ambassadors who abandoned their jobs at the onset of 2013 civil war. The removed ambassadors include Ambassador Francis Nazario, Emanuel Yohannis Yor, Christopher Leonard Jada, Mohamed Ismail Faraj, Jago Arop Yor, just to mention a few. 

Sources close to the presidency cited the removal of governor David Lokonga due to failure to address and combat the insecurity in Yei River state. Yei River state was until July 2016 clashes at J1 was among the peaceful states in the country.  

However, after the J1 clashes between the two forces, Yei has become the epicentre of massacres of civilians mostly by government soldiers from Dinka ethnic tribe. The massive killing of civilians in Yei by government forces has received global outcries including the special UN envoy Adama Dieng was prompted to said there is genocide and ethnic cleansing in the country. 

J. Roberts Swaka 

SSLN