Salva Kiir is the first and only president of South Sudan since its independence from Sudan in 2011. He is 74 years old. Close observers say he is ill. His longtime rival is his vice-president, Riek Machar, a Nuer (Kiir is a Dinka). A civil war between their factions erupted in 2013 and cost perhaps 400,000 lives before ending in a fragile truce in 2018. A unity government was formed in 2020, but Kiir refused to implement key terms, such as unifying the army and holding elections. In March 2025 he arrested Machar; in September Machar was charged with murder, treason and crimes against humanity.
His dictatorial governing style is growing ever more erratic. His inner circle barely extends beyond his own family. In August 2025 he appointed his daughter as a senior economic adviser, replacing Benjamin Bol Mel, until then his presumed successor; three months later Bol Mel was put under house arrest. On February 23rd 2026 he sacked the finance minister—the country's eighth since 2020—after just three months in office. In January 2026 a man was appointed to an election panel who was later found to have died five years ago. A company said to be linked to his family seized airport overflight fees and is trying to take a cut from numerous other revenue streams.
Kiir can count on support from neighbouring Uganda, which has troops stationed on the outskirts of Juba. Opposition forces are too weak and divided to topple him. But plenty of would-be successors are in the wings, waiting for nature to take its course. "The successor will be decided by whoever hears about Kiir's death first," a senior politician has said.
There are two types of people in this world, good and bad. The good sleep better, but the bad seem to enjoy the waking hours much more.