A wave of arrests of former senior officials has deepened political uncertainty in South Sudan, with analysts warning of increasing cracks in President Salva Kiir’s government. The latest detention came on Friday when Bak Barnaba Chol, a former finance minister, was arrested as he attempted to cross the border into Uganda.
Chol’s arrest follows that of Marial Dongrin Ater, another former finance minister who was sacked in August. In the past week, a former central bank governor, a former undersecretary for the ministry of petroleum, and a general in the domestic intelligence agency previously seconded to the same ministry have also been taken into custody.
Government spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny insisted the arrests were not political but a direct response to irregularities in the monetary system, with a committee investigating financial malpractices. However, civic leader Edmund Yakani described the mood in the capital Juba as tense, warning that if the detentions spread to the security sector the situation could become extremely dangerous.
Daniel Akech of the International Crisis Group said the arrests reflected a narrowing of Kiir’s ‘big tent’ coalition, which he has long relied on to maintain control over a fractured political landscape. The economic backdrop is grim: the war in neighbouring Sudan has disrupted oil exports, with pipeline ruptures sometimes knocking out more than 60% of production. The World Bank estimates South Sudan’s economy shrank by 24% in 2025.
The regime is already battling an armed rebellion. Opposition leader Riek Machar is under house arrest and on trial for alleged subversion, which he denies. Many of his allies have been arrested or purged. Kiir suspended Machar as deputy in September, coinciding with a sharp rise in violence, with the UN reporting thousands killed in 2025 and 280,000 people displaced since December. A UN inquiry has found that leaders are systematically dismantling the 2018 peace agreement, while Washington has called for fresh peace talks.
