South Sudan president replaces top security officials, orders border monitoring
May 1, 2025 (JUBA) – South Sudan President Salva Kiir replaced his national security adviser and the head of the country’s main intelligence bureau on Wednesday, appointing new officials and directing closer monitoring of borders with conflict-hit Sudan and Ethiopia, according to presidential decrees and official comments.
The decrees, announced on the state broadcaster South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC) late Wednesday, named Gen. Dut Dut Yel as the new presidential adviser on national security.
He replaces Gen. Thoi Chan Reat, who was promoted and appointed Director General of the General Intelligence Bureau (GIB), a key branch of the National Security Service (NSS).
Reat replaced Lt. Gen. Simon Yien Makuac, who had held the GIB post since 2021. No official reason was given for the changes, and Makuac was not immediately assigned a new role.
The new national security adviser, Gen. Dut, confirmed Kiir had instructed him to coordinate monitoring activities along the borders.
“The president has directed me to work closely with all the institutions, especially in the monitoring and coordination of the movement and other activities in our borders with Sudan and Ethiopia,” Dut told Reuters by phone from his home in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state on Thursday. “A lot of movement and activities are taking place, and this would require close attention.”
The leadership changes come amid heightened regional tensions, with ongoing conflict in neighbouring Sudan and instability in parts of Ethiopia. South Sudanese officials have previously expressed concern that armed groups could exploit porous borders.
Gen. Dut is a long-serving intelligence officer whose previous roles include serving as South Sudan’s military attaché in Egypt and as deputy governor of Northern Bahr el Ghazal state. He said he welcomed the appointment and would travel to Juba on Friday for further directives.
The GIB is tasked with gathering intelligence on external threats, and its head typically provides daily briefings to the president.
The reasons for the recent reshuffles in South Sudan’s security apparatus, which had previously seen fewer frequent leadership changes, were not made public.