South Sudan’s unity government has taken a dramatic turn as President Salva Kiir removed Interior Minister Angelina Teny, the wife of detained opposition leader Riek Machar, from her post on Monday evening. The decision comes without explanation and raises fresh concerns about the fragile peace that followed a five-year civil war.
Teny, a senior opposition figure, had been heading the Interior Ministry since March 2023, when Kiir reshuffled her from the defense ministry and took direct control of defense himself. Her presence in the ministry had been minimal since March 2025, after Machar was placed under house arrest. Reports indicate that in June 2025, her phone, laptop, and modem were seized by security agents.
Aleu Ayieny Aleu, a longtime loyalist and former interior minister from 2013 to 2015, has been appointed as her replacement, AP reported. The change weakens the 2018 peace agreement, which had allocated the Interior Ministry to the opposition as part of a power-sharing arrangement. The opposition has accused Kiir of undermining this framework.
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Machar, a former rebel leader who joined the unity government in 2020, remains detained along with several associates, facing treason charges tied to violence in Nasir, Upper Nile state. Meanwhile, forces loyal to Machar, joined by allied White Army fighters, have made advances against government troops in Jonglei state. They recently captured Pajut, a strategic town on the main road to Bor, the state capital, prompting the government to send reinforcements to defend the city.
Violence has also surged across Unity, Upper Nile, and parts of Central and Eastern Equatoria states in recent weeks. Regional and international observers warn that these clashes signal a potential wider escalation, pointing to the unimplemented security provisions of the 2018 peace deal, including reforms and the unification of armed forces.
Pal Mai Deng, a spokesperson for the opposition, described Teny’s dismissal as “a clear sign of desperation” and said it reflects a government “crumbling under pressure” amid a deteriorating security situation.
