THE MIDNIGHT PURGEJUBA, South Sudan – At 11:47 p.m. on November 12, 2025, the state broadcaster cut into regular programming. A lone anchor read a presidential decree in clipped Arabic and English: “Benjamin Bol Mel is relieved of his duties as Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan, effective immediately. ”Within hours, armored vehicles sealed off Bol Mel’s riverside mansion in the Tong ping district. National Security Service (NSS) agents disarmed his 40-man guard detail. Ugandan troops—quietly stationed for his protection under a bilateral agreement—were ordered to stand down. By dawn, the once-powerful businessman-turned-politician had been stripped of his party post, demoted from general to private, and vanished from public view. No official reason was given. No successor was named. Bol Mel, 52, had been appointed only nine months earlier as Vice President for Economic Affairs. By May, he was first deputy chairman of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM)—a trajectory that fueled persistent rumors he was President Salva Kiir’s chosen heir. That ascent ended in a single stroke.
A NATION ON THE BRINK The purge extends far beyond one man. In the same decree, Kiir sacked the Central Bank governor and the head of the National Revenue Authority—both seen as Bol Mel loyalists. The moves signal a wider consolidation of power amid escalating instability. Bol Mel has long been a lightning rod. Since 2017, he has been under U.S. sanctions for alleged corruption, accused of funneling millions through his company, ABMC Limited. A recent UN report claims entities linked to him received $1.7 billion for road projects that were never built—contracts awarded during South Sudan’s oil-fueled boom years, now a symbol of systemic plunder.
He has never publicly responded to the allegations.
A Fragile Peace Unravels South Sudan’s political architecture—five vice presidents mandated by the 2018 peace deal—was meant to prevent a return to war. That structure is now in tatters.In March 2025, First Vice President Riek Machar, Kiir’s civil war rival, was arrested in a nighttime raid. Charged with treason and murder, he remains under house arrest. His party, the SPLM-IO, declared the peace agreement “effectively dead. ”Elections, originally due in 2024, have been postponed twice—now slated for December 2026. Critics call it a stalling tactic. The government cites unfinished census and constitutional reforms. Citizens see only unpaid salaries and rising hunger.
Violence ReturnsSince January, fighting between Kiir’s forces and splinter armed groups has displaced 370,000 people. Clashes in Greater Pibor, Jonglei, and Equatoria states have destroyed clinics, schools, and farms.The UN warns of a “renewed slide into full-scale conflict.” Over 300,000 have fled across borders since the Machar arrest. Another 2.6 million remain internally displaced—many still scarred from the 2013–2018 civil war that killed nearly 400,000.
What Happens Next?With no clear successor, no functioning peace deal, and no elections in sight, South Sudan teeters on the edge.Kiir, 74, rules by decree. Bol Mel’s fall removes a powerful rival—but also a potential bridge to younger elites. The vacuum risks deeper factionalism within the SPLM and the military.International calls for dialogue grow louder. The African Union and IGAD have urged mediation. The UN Security Council has renewed sanctions threats. But enforcement remains weak.For the people of South Sudan—12 million strong, oil-rich, and war-weary—the question is no longer who will lead, but whether the country can survive another collapse.
