Dead Man Appointment Triggers Sacking of Aides in South Sudan

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir dismissed his press secretary and a ministry administrator after an apparently flawed appointment put a deceased man, Steward Soroba Budia, on a panel to lead talks on December elections. Kiir’s office gave no reasons; the press secretary said the error stemmed from relying on stakeholders for names without proper verification. Budia, who died five years ago, had signed a 2018 peace agreement, and the panel is meant to steer elections amid ongoing conflict and displacement.