Juba — President Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan, in a surprising move, sacked Vice-president Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon on Tuesday, moments after dissolving the entire cabinet in a presidential decree that was read on national TV.
Mr. Kiir removed all ministers, their deputies and he has directed undersecretaries to take charge in the meantime.
In the same decree, the president has also susspended and ordered investigation of the ruling party's Secretary-General Mr. Pagan Amum Okiech.
He has tapped Speaker James Wani Igga as head of the committee tasked with overseeing that investigation.
It is not clear what the thinking was behind the decision to dissolve the national government. But South Sudan has been rocked by specters of violence and corruption for years now.
The young country just marked its 2nd anniversary of the independence on July 9, 2013.
Plus, the country is gearing up for the 2015 presidential election, which in recent months has seen the former vice-president ratcheting up his criticism of the president.
It is not clear when the president will fill the currently vacant seats: of vice president and all the national ministeries.
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