NIMULE.
Former Finance Minister Dr Barnaba Bak Chol, was arrested Friday night while allegedly attempting to flee to Uganda.
Dr Chol was fired by South Sudanese President Salvir Kiir as finance minister of on Monday.
Kiir dismissed Dr Chol in a presidential decree broadcast on South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC), ending a tenure that had lasted slightly over three months.
Dr Chol 43, formally handed over office to his successor, Salvatore Garang Mabiordit, a day before his reported arrest.
South Sudan media Radio Tamazuj, quoting unnamed security sources, said that Dr Chol was intercepted at about 8pm in the border town of Nimule. He was allegedly attempting to cross into Uganda through an unofficial route on a boda boda.
Footage circulating on social media shows the former minister with apparent bloodstains on his clothing following what sources described as a pursuit by security forces. In one video clip, Chol is heard pleading with officers not to film him after being intercepted near the Elegu-Nimule border crossing.
Photos from the scene appear to show a large, undisclosed sum of US Dollar seized during the arrest.
The government had not issued a formal statement on the detention by press time.
Dr Chol , a professor at the University of Juba, had previously served as finance minister from August 2023 until March 2024 before returning to the docket on November 4. His abrupt removal on Monday was not accompanied by any official explanation, though it came amid mounting economic pressure and growing scrutiny of South Sudan’s financial institutions.
His arrest comes just three days after he denied had been arrested by security on Tuesday amid mounting speculation.
On Tuesday, a day after his dismissal, Dr Chol issued a public statement rejecting widespread social media claims that he had been arrested by the National Security Service (NSS).
“I want to reassure everyone that I’m safe, well, and continuing with my normal activities,” he said. “The reports circulating on social media claiming that I have been arrested are completely false. I remain at peace and in good health.”
He also expressed gratitude to President Kiir for the opportunity to serve.
“I am deeply grateful to His Excellency the President Salva Kiir Mayardit for the trust and responsibility he placed in me during my service as Minister of Finance and Planning,” Chol said, describing the role as a “profound honour.”
He thanked colleagues, development partners and citizens for their support and reaffirmed his commitment to “peace, stability, and prosperity” in South Sudan.
However, Friday’s events appear to contradict his earlier assurances and suggest that tensions had escalated behind the scenes.
Chol’s detention comes amid what appears to be a widening crackdown on high-profile figures in the country’s finance and security sectors.
The former central bank governor, Moses Makur Deng Manguak, was placed under house arrest in Juba earlier this week. Former finance minister Dr Marial Dongrin Ater was arrested in Rumbek on Thursday and flown to the capital.
Maj Gen Manasseh Machar Bol, a senior security official formerly stationed at the Ministry of Petroleum, was also taken into custody earlier in the week. Deng Lual Wol, the former undersecretary at the Ministry of Petroleum, was reportedly detained Friday after reporting to the National Security Service for questioning.
The motive behind the arrests remains unclear. South Sudan has long struggled with corruption and mismanagement of public funds, challenges often linked to weak accountability mechanisms and fragile institutions.
The country is also facing mounting fiscal pressures, including currency instability and declining oil revenues.