South Sudan's Parliament Speaker Sacked Amid Corruption Claims
Kiir moved swiftly to fill the vacuum, appointing Joseph Ngere Paciko as the new speaker and Abuk Paiti Ayiik as deputy speaker.
Kumba, who had held the speakership since 2021 and made history as the first woman to do so, was brought down after members of Kiir's ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) parliamentary caucus filed a formal petition targeting her leadership. The petition alleged corruption and mismanagement of parliamentary funds, drawing vocal support from several lawmakers who demanded her immediate removal. Neither Kiir nor the parliament offered detailed public comment on the specific allegations, according to reports.
Kumba had signaled defiance just two days before her removal. In a statement issued Sunday, she reaffirmed her allegiance to the country's constitution and its fragile peace framework. "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.
The dismissal fits a pattern of sweeping personnel changes Kiir has carried out in recent months. In February, he removed Finance Minister Bak Barnaba Chol barely three months into the role, offering no public explanation. Before that, Interior Minister Angelina Teny was shown the door in January, Vice President Benjamin Bol Mel was removed in November, and Foreign Minister Ramadan Mohamed Abdallah Goc was dismissed in April 2025.
The political turbulence plays out against a deeply unstable national backdrop. South Sudan declared independence from Sudan in 2011, but has never fully shed the instability that followed a devastating five-year civil war ignited in 2013 by a bitter power struggle between Kiir and then-First Vice President Riek Machar — who currently remains under arrest. That conflict uprooted millions of people and left an estimated 400,000 dead.
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