South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit has dismissed the final state governor aligned with First Vice President Riek Machar, a move critics say undermines the 2018 peace agreement and risks deepening the nation’s political crisis.

In a presidential decree aired late Monday on state-run South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC), Kiir appointed Gen. Sherif Daniel Sherif as governor of Western Bahr el Ghazal state. Sherif is affiliated with a breakaway faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In-Opposition (SPLM-IO) led by Peacebuilding Minister Stephen Par Kuol.

He replaces Emmanuel Primo Okello, who was appointed in November under Machar’s recommendation, in line with the power-sharing provisions of the 2018 revitalized peace deal. Under the agreement, Machar’s SPLM-IO had the authority to nominate governors for Upper Nile, Western Equatoria, and Western Bahr el Ghazal states. Earlier this year, Kiir had already removed the governors of Upper Nile and Western Equatoria. With Okello’s dismissal, Machar’s faction no longer holds any gubernatorial positions.

“This new appointment appears orchestrated either by Kuol’s faction or by the SPLM in Government [SPLM-IG],” Pal Mai Deng, spokesperson for Machar’s SPLM-IO, told local media. He added that Machar’s group is now effectively sidelined from state leadership.

Pal explained that even governors appointed under Stephen Par’s faction were not personally endorsed by Machar. “SPLM-IG does its own consultations with those to be appointed in the name of SPLM-IO, and then directs Par Kuol to submit the names to the president. Par has no option but to comply,” he said.

Asked whether the dismissals signal the collapse of the peace deal, Pal stated that the SPLM-IO is still waiting for an official declaration from Kiir’s faction. “We believe sustainable peace in South Sudan depends on commitment to the 2018 peace agreement. However, the agreement is severely damaged, and it will be difficult to revive,” he said.

Pal warned that the ruling SPLM, under President Kiir, now controls the country’s political path. “It has the mantle and tools to dismantle the 2018 peace deal,” he noted.

A senior official from the SPLM-IO interim leadership confirmed that Sherif Daniel Sherif belongs to their faction but provided no further details. Little is publicly known about the new governor.