South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir dissolved the Transitional Government of National Unity on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, and appointed a caretaker administration to lead the country to the December 22 election, the first since independence in 2011. The decree, read out by the state broadcaster, removed all vice presidents, ministers and local administrators and dissolved the national and state assemblies; the judiciary and security institutions remained in place, and Kiir stays in office “during the election period until the next elected president assumes office”, according to Al Jazeera. The move came a day after parliament passed amendments to the National Elections Act that unlinked the vote from the completion of a permanent constitution and a census, changes Kiir signed late on Monday and that the South Sudan Opposition Alliance rejected, according to Reuters, saying they were made without adequate consultation among the parties to the 2018 peace deal. Kiir’s longtime rival Riek Machar, who leads the main opposition party, has been under house arrest since March 2025 and is on trial on charges including treason and murder, which he denies. A permanent constitution, voter registration and the unification of armed forces loyal to rival parties all remain outstanding. Amnesty International called the decree a step toward the vote and urged conditions for people to vote and stand; analysts cited by Agence France-Presse said the amendments concentrate power in the president. The civil war that ended in 2018 killed about 400,000 people and displaced millions, according to the United Nations.
23 Sep · 04:05
Armed men stormed a house in the KwaMakhutha township, about 30 kilometers south of Durban, on the night of Tuesday, September 22, 2026, and killed at least 11 people attending a party, including a woman believed to be pregnant; three others were wounded, according to South African police cited by The Hindu and Al Jazeera. KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli said the assailants entered shortly before 11 p.m. (UTC-4) and that the motive is not known; local broadcaster eNCA reported that the victims were forced into a single room before the shooting. Police said some of the dead were already on the crime intelligence radar over suspected illegal activities and that a feud between rival groupings cannot be ruled out. South Africa has one of the world’s highest murder rates, with an average of about 60 killings a day in a population of roughly 62 million, according to Al Jazeera.