South Sudan Vice-President Taban Deng Gai says he hasn’t met President Kiir in nearly a year

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir (Photo: X/South Sudan Government)

Tabang Deng Gai, South Sudan’s Vice-President, has said he has been unable to meet Salva Kiir, the country’s president, for nearly a year, blaming obstruction by officials within the presidency.

Speaking on Sunday at a prayer service for victims of the Abiem-nhom attack, Deng claimed he had not seen the president since May 2025.

Requests for meetings and official correspondence, he said, had failed to reach Kiir.

“Who among you can believe that the vice-president cannot meet the president?” he asked, adding that even travel approvals from the presidency had been delayed or withheld.

The remarks, reported by Eye Radio, offer a rare public glimpse into dysfunction at the top of South Sudan’s fragile unity government.

Deng, who first became vice-president in 2016 after replacing Riek Machar during a breakdown in the peace process, returned to the role in 2024 following renewed tensions between Kiir and Machar.

The latter, long-time rival to the president, is now under house arrest, further narrowing the space for political mediation.

South Sudan’s political system remains shaped by the unresolved rivalry between Kiir and Machar, whose forces fought a brutal civil war between 2013 and 2018 that left hundreds of thousands dead.

A fragile peace agreement formally ended large-scale fighting, but key provisions, including security sector reforms and power-sharing arrangements, have been only partially implemented.

In this context, Deng’s complaint points to deeper institutional weakness. Power in South Sudan remains heavily centralised around the presidency, with access often mediated by a tight inner circle. The inability of a sitting vice-president to secure a meeting with the head of state underscores the opacity and fragmentation within the executive.

It also raises questions about the functionality of the transitional government, which was designed to stabilise the country ahead of long-delayed elections.

Source: https://eastleighvoice.co.ke/south-sudan/318050/south-sudan-vice-president-tabang-deng-gai-says-he-hasnt-met-president-kiir-in-nearly-a-year