The Constitutional Legality of the “Crowning” of the Crown Prince in South Sudan
What does the SPLM Constitution say about the legality of the Appointment of the Crown Prince?
PaanLuel Wël, Juba, South Sudan
Friday, 23 May 2025 (PW) — Much has been said and written about how President Kiir single-handedly dismissed all senior members of the SPLM ruling party and unilaterally appointed the Crown Prince as vice president of the Republic of South Sudan and 1st deputy chairperson of the SPLM ruling party.
The debate on the legality of the unilateral anointment of the Crown Prince centers around precedents set by the election of Dr. John Garang in July 1983 by his peers as the chairman of the SPLM and commander-in-chief of the SPLA; the 1994 election of Dr. John Garang by the SPLM National Liberation Council in Chukudum after stepping down to allow the party to affirm his leadership in the aftermath of the 1991 Nasir coup by Dr. Riek Machar and Dr. Lam Akol; and the election of CDR Salva Kiir Mayardit in 2005 by the SPLM National Liberation Council as the chairman of the SPLM and commander-in-chief of the SPLA after the death of Dr. John Garang in the helicopter crash.
Thus, many across the country have wondered whether the dismissal of senior SPLM political leaders and unilateral appointment of the Crown Prince may be compatible with the SPLM party constitution. The last constitution and manifesto of the SPLM were updated in 2008 and could have been revised in 2012 had the party disagreement on the election of the party chairman and SPLM flagbearer not descended into the December 2013 mutiny in Juba and subsequent outbreak of civil war.
The National Structure of the SPLM Ruling Party
The current chairperson of the SPLM ruling party is Comrade President Salva Kiir Mayardit Thiik Atem, while the Secretary-General is Comrade Dr. James Wani Igga. According to the 2008 SPLM constitution, there are five main national organs in the SPLM: the National Convention (NC), the National Liberation Council (NLC), the Political Bureau (PB), the General Secretariat, and the SPLM Chairperson. The SPLM National Convention is the supreme political organ of the Movement (Article 31.1), entrusted with adopting the Constitution, the Manifesto, and endorsing policies and programs of the SPLM (Article 14.1a), as well as electing the Chairperson and members of the National Liberation Council (Article 14.1d).
The SPLM National Liberation Council (NLC) comprises not more than 275 members (Article 15.2) and is tasked with approving the nominations by the Chairperson for membership of the PB (Article 16.6); endorsing the nominees of the Chairperson for the positions of the three Deputies of the Chairperson (Article 16.7); electing the Secretary General from among its members (Article 16.8); and reporting to the National Convention (Article 16.9). The resolutions of the NLC are passed by a simple majority of the members present (Article 17.3), and voting in the NLC is done by show of hands (Article 17.4). The SPLM Political Bureau, the highest executive organ of the party, is composed of 27 members, including the Chairperson, Deputies of the Chairperson, Secretary General, and Deputies of the Secretary General (Article 18.2), with members serving for a term of five years (Article 18.6).
The Political Bureau is tasked with formulating policies, plans, and programs in accordance with the vision and mission of the SPLM (Article 19.1); supervising and directing the daily political, administrative, and executive activities of the SPLM (Article 19.2); issuing policy directives and instructions to, and receiving reports from, the General Secretariat (Article 19.4); ensuring that all structures of the SPLM function democratically, transparently, effectively, and efficiently (Article 19.5); scrutinizing and endorsing the list of SPLM candidates for presidential, state governors, parliamentary, and other elections (Article 19.8); and approving the appointment of the Deputy Secretary General upon the recommendation of the SG (Article 19.9).
The SPLM General Secretariat, which is composed of the Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General, and National Secretaries (Article 21.2), is responsible for the initiation and implementation of policies, programs, decisions, and resolutions of the party (Article 22.1-2); being in charge of the day-to-day activities of the SPLM (Article 22.3); and reporting and being answerable to the Chairperson and the PB (Article 22.4).
The SPLM Chairperson is the head of the SPLM and the Chairperson of the National Convention (NC), the National Liberation Council (NLC), and the Political Bureau (PB) (Article 25.1d), and is entrusted with nominating three candidates for the positions of Deputies of the Chairperson for endorsement by the NLC (Article 25.1a); nominating members of the PB for approval by the NLC (Article 25.1b); nominating not more than three candidates for the position of SG for election by the NLC (Article 25.1c); and presiding over the meetings of the NC, NLC, PB, and the General Secretariat (Article 25.1e). And “In case the office of the Chairperson falls vacant, the most senior Deputy Chairperson shall assume the office of Chairperson and convene an extraordinary meeting of the NC within sixty (60) days to elect a new Chairperson” (Article 25.2).
The SPLM Secretary General is the chief administrative officer of the party and answerable to the Chairperson and the PB (Article 27.1a); the secretary of the PB, NLC, and the NC, who keeps the minutes and records (Article 27.1b); recommends the appointment of Deputies of the Secretary General and the National Secretaries (Article 27.1c); presides over the meetings of the General Secretariat (Article 27.1d); and organizes the meetings of the PB, NLC, and the NC, and notifies all the members (Article 27.1f).
What the SPLM Constitution Says About the Legality of the Appointment of the Crown Prince
Whether the appointment of the Crown Prince as the first deputy chairperson is legal is a matter of law and legal procedures as stipulated in the SPLM constitution. The pertinent question is whether the positions of the chairperson and deputy chairpersons are elected or appointed after nomination, and by which party organs among the national party structure, namely, the National Convention (NC), the National Liberation Council (NLC), the Political Bureau (PB), the General Secretariat, and the SPLM Chairperson.
According to Article 14.1d of the SPLM constitution, the SPLM National Convention shall “Elect the Chairperson and members of the National Liberation Council,” and “The Chairperson may be removed by the NC in an extraordinary session convened on the request of at least two-thirds (2/3) of members of the NLC for violation of this Constitution or gross misconduct, provided that the resolution for the removal of the Chairperson shall be carried by three-quarters (¾) of all members of the National Convention” (Article 14.3).
By tradition of the SPLM, the candidates for the chairperson position are nominated and seconded by individual members of the NC and then endorsed by the NC, as per the election of Dr. John Garang in 1994 during the Chukudum National Convention and the election of CDR Salva Kiir Mayardit in 2005 during the National Convention in New Site, Eastern Equatoria, after the death of Dr. John Garang.
According to Article 25.1a of the SPLM constitution, the SPLM Chairperson shall “Nominate three candidates for the positions of Deputies of the Chairperson for endorsement by the NLC,” and the SPLM National Liberation Council (NLC) is entrusted with endorsing the nominees of the Chairperson for the positions of the three Deputies of the Chairperson (Article 16.7).
Article 25.1a of the SPLM constitution, read together with Article 16.7, implies that unlike the position of the chairperson, which must be elected, the positions for the office of the SPLM deputy chairperson are not elected but rather nominated by the SPLM chairperson. Once the chairperson has nominated three individuals for the positions of the three deputy chairpersons, the nominees are then endorsed by the SPLM National Liberation Council (NLC) as per Article 16.7.
Therefore, the legality of the appointment of the Crown Prince as the first SPLM deputy chairperson depends on whether he was nominated by the SPLM chairperson and then endorsed by the SPLM National Liberation Council (NLC), or whether he was simply appointed and sworn into office unilaterally.
The president and his supporters will argue that the Crown Prince was legally nominated by President Kiir as chairperson of the SPLM party and procedurally endorsed and sworn in at the SPLM National Liberation Council (NLC) in Juba. Critics would argue that President Kiir unilaterally appointed (rather than nominated) and then hurriedly sworn into office the Crown Prince as deputy chairperson before he was endorsed by the SPLM National Liberation Council (NLC). President Kiir’s detractors maintain the Crown Prince was appointed and sworn into office like a cabinet member without the endorsement of the SPLM National Liberation Council (NLC).
According to Article 17 of the SPLM constitution, the meeting of the SPLM National Liberation Council (NLC) is convened once a year in a regular session and may be convened in extraordinary sessions whenever deemed necessary by the Chairperson. The quorum is a simple majority of its membership (50% + 1), and the resolutions of the NLC are passed by a simple majority of the members present. Voting in the NLC is done by show of hands.
Article 17 implies that President Kiir, as the chairperson of the SPLM, has the authority to convene the meeting of the NLC with a quorum of a simple majority and adoption of resolutions by simple majority. Thus, the meeting convened in Juba on 22 May 2025 was likely legally convened, with the quorum attained and resolution adopted with a simple majority as per the stipulations of the SPLM party constitution.
However, questions may be raised whether the meeting that took place in Juba, where the Crown Prince and two other deputies were sworn into office, could qualify as the SPLM National Liberation Council (NLC) that is responsible for endorsing the nomination of the SPLM deputy chairpersons. Secondly, it is debatable whether the recently dismissed senior members of the SPLM party, namely, Dr. James Wani Igga, Gen. Kuol Manyang Juuk, and Gen. Daniel Awet Akot, attended the SPLM meeting in Juba in which the three deputies were sworn in to replace them. However, their absence or presence is inconsequential since the required quorum for the NLC meeting is a simple majority.
The SPLM constitution is silent on whether the chairperson can unilaterally and single-handedly dismiss SPLM deputy chairpersons and Secretary General without endorsement from the SPLM National Liberation Council (NLC). Nonetheless, since the SPLM National Liberation Council (NLC) is mandated by law to endorse the nomination of the deputy chairpersons, secretary general, and PB members, it is implicitly the case that the chairperson cannot unilaterally and single-handedly dismiss Dr. James Wani Igga, Gen. Kuol Manyang Juuk, and Gen. Daniel Awet Akot.
The Political Implications of the Crowning of the Crown Prince
President Kiir, as the chairperson of the SPLM, has the constitutional authority to nominate the Crown Prince as first deputy chairperson of the SPLM party, with the endorsement of the SPLM National Liberation Council (NLC). Therefore, for all intents and purposes of the SPLM constitution, the Crown Prince was legally nominated, endorsed, and sworn into office as the legal SPLM deputy chairperson. While this action may likely be open to legal challenge on technicalities, the legality of the Crown Prince as the first deputy chairperson is likely to be upheld by the constitutional court of law.
The legality of the appointment has real and immediate implications for succession politics in South Sudan, both in relation to the party politics within the SPLM party as well as in relation to the September 2018 Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS). For example, in relation to SPLM party politics, Article 25.2 of the SPLM Constitution stipulates that “In case the office of the Chairperson falls vacant, the most senior Deputy Chairperson shall assume the office of Chairperson and convene an extraordinary meeting of the NC within sixty (60) days to elect a new Chairperson.”
This means that should something happen to Chairperson, the Crown Prince, as the first deputy chairperson of the SPLM ruling party, will automatically become the acting chairperson of the SPLM, entrusted with convening the extraordinary meeting of the NC within sixty (60) days to elect a new Chairperson, just as CDR Salva Kiir did after the death of Dr. John Garang. It goes without saying that the acting chairperson in the person of the Crown Prince would emerge as the new chairperson in such an eventuality.
Secondly, according to section 1.6 of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS), the legality of the appointment of the Crown Prince has huge implications for the succession politics of the current Revitalised Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU) in Juba.
For example, paragraph 1.6.3 of the Revitalised Peace Agreement (R-ARCSS) provides that “In the event of temporary absence of the President, the First Vice President shall act as the President and Commander-in-Chief of the national army and overall commander of all other organized forces.” This is where the detention of Dr. Riek Machar intersects with the succession politics in the SPLM party. In this case, the first vice president, Dr. Riek Machar, has been taken out of the political equation, and Hon. Stephen Par Kuol has been left purposely in political limbo. The chaos in the SPLM-IO would leave the Crown Prince, as the second most senior vice president, to act as the President and Commander-in-Chief of the national army in the event of temporary absence of the President.
Secondly, paragraph 1.6.4 of the Revitalised Peace Agreement (R-ARCSS) stipulates that “In the event of the temporary absence of both the President and the First Vice President, the President shall delegate one of the Vice Presidents to act as the President and Commander-in-Chief of the national army and overall commander of all other organized forces.” This is the most likely scenario envisioned with the detention of Dr. Riek Machar, purposely to preclude any scenario in which he would remain as the acting president and commander-in-chief of the army in the event of temporary absence of the President as per paragraph 1.6.3 of the Revitalised Peace Agreement. Should something happen to the president or say the president goes on medical leave abroad, he would delegate the Crown Prince as the acting president and commander-in-chief as per paragraph 1.6.4 of the Revitalised Peace Agreement.
Thirdly, paragraph 1.6.5 of the Revitalised Peace Agreement (R-ARCSS) provides that “In the event that the post of the President falls vacant during the Transitional Period, for any reason, including mental infirmity or physical incapacity of the office holder, the replacement shall be nominated by the top leadership body of the respective Party as at the signing of this Agreement. Such a process of replacement shall not exceed forty-eight (48) hours.” This means that with the firing of Dr. James Wani Igga and the installation of the Crown Prince as the vice president for economic cluster and as first deputy chairperson of the SPLM, the top leadership of the SPLM party would nominate and endorse the Crown Prince to replace the president in the event of death, mental infirmity, or physical incapacity.
Conclusion
It is abundantly clear to all and sundry that President Salva Kiir Mayardit has anointed the Crown Prince as his successor, bypassing the SPLM party’s traditional leadership hierarchy and succession protocols that ushered President Kiir into power in 2005. By all means and intents, this is another genius and masterclass political move by a president who has always been underestimated by his political opponents and who has outmaneuvered and beaten them several times. It is apparently the case that President Kiir has quietly and systematically engineered his own succession plan without input from the top leadership of the SPLM.
The crowning of the Crown Prince is generally perceived as representing a generational transition within SPLM/SPLA leadership from the KWAK old guards under President Kiir to the Terab Generation (Jesh-Amer). It is my conviction that while corruption allegations abound against the Crown Prince (“Only one Rat misappropriating public funds in South Sudan,” proclaims Hon. Joseph Lual Achuil), it is likely the case that any misappropriation was at the behest of his boss, President Salva Kiir. It is likely the case that the Crown Prince holds only a small ownership stake in the rebranded ABMC company, while the real beneficiaries are his superiors. Therefore, it is likely unfair to nail the Crown Prince on President Kiir’s hard-earned cross.
The relationship between President Kiir and the Crown Prince has been rooted in their shared business interests, primarily through ABMC Corporation (rebranded as ARC after American sanctions). Therefore, the success of the succession plan will largely depend on the Crown Prince’s ability and willingness to protect and preserve both President Kiir’s legacy and his family’s interests, particularly given the president’s advancing age and health considerations. While the Crown Prince is positioned as a trusted custodian of both, his success will depend on whether the President truly believes the Crown Prince can protect his legacy and wealth. Apparent failure in this regard could lead the Crown Prince to the Blue House rather than J-1.
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