23/02/2026
Resilient citizen decided to fire the rocket to the incumbent minister.
Ambassador Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, the self-imposed Ali Khamenei of the Nuer Tribe: The Virus Infecting South Sudan's Government from Within
In the treacherous landscape of South Sudanese politics, few figures embody duplicity as vividly as Minister Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth. Like a virus silently infiltrating the body's defences, Lol has waged a relentless campaign to corrode President Salva Kiir's government from the inside. His actionsโplotted coups, opportunistic betrayals, and calculated selloutsโpaint a picture of a man driven not by loyalty or ideology, but by personal ambition. Actually, if Nuer and Jieng Communities were still fully abiding by their traditions and rich cultural values, humans with a damaged heart like Lol would not be accorded a space in society and political party as of today he is.
Fact-check his timeline, and the pattern emerges: destruction disguised as service. This is no mere political intrigue; it is a mission to devour the system alive. Lol Nyankiiiiiir's story begins with outright rebellion. In the chaotic days of internal dissent, he aligned himself with Dr. Riek Machar, the veteran opposition leader, in what many saw as a direct plot against President Kiir's administration. They schemed a coup, aiming to topple the government through force and factionalism. When the plot unravelled, Lol Nyankiiiiiir fled into exile after a brief detention and release. From the safety of foreign shores, he did not fade into obscurity. Instead, he launched a propaganda offensive, peddling South Sudan's vulnerabilities to foreign powers.
Videos circulating online capture his impassioned pleasโclips where he vilifies Kiir's regime, exaggerates its failures, and invites international intervention. These are not the rants of a principled dissident; they are the calculated moves of a man auctioning his nation's sovereignty. He positioned himself as the insider with dirt to spill, hoping punitive foreign sanctions and pressure would weaken Kiir enough for his return to engineer looting. Fact-check the archives: those speeches, those interviewsโthey are damning evidence of his early vendetta. But Lol is no ideologue tethered to one side. His true allegiance is to power, whatever form it takes.
Upon his opportunistic return, he executed a clandestine betrayal that stunned even his allies. While still ostensibly loyal to his eye-opener, Dr. Riek Machar, Lol Nyankiiiiiir secretly created mistrust in SPLM-IO leadership and defected to veteran politician H.E Taban Deng Gai's camp. Gen. Taban, Riek's former Chief of Staff turned rival, was manoeuvring for control of the opposition splinter. Lol did not just switch teams; he orchestrated the handover, paving Taban's path to interim leadership of the SPLM-IO faction, a faction which did not last longer in working with President Kiir. In reward, Kiir's government appointed Lol as Minister of Petroleumโa plum position overseeing South Sudan's most lucrative resource. From exile agitator to cabinet insider overnight, Lol had reinvented himself. Yet his shine was superficial. In that role, he prioritized self-promotion over national interest, eagerly exploiting ethnic divisions to advance his agenda. Fellow Nuer communities, his own people, bore the brunt.
Reports and whispers from Juba's corridors suggest he manoeuvred contracts and concessions that marginalized Nuer stakeholders, funnelling benefits to his inner circle while his kin languished. He sold out his own for a ministerial desk, proving his loyalty was as fickle as the oil prices he oversaw. Today, Lol's machinations have reached a new zenith of cynicism. He's playing both ends against the middle with masterful deceit. On one hand, he's whispering sweet nothings to President Kiir, positioning himself as a bridge-builder who can "tame" Riek Machar.
Sources close to the presidential palace describe clandestine meetings where Lol offers intelligence on Riek's movements, promising to deliver the opposition leader on a platter. It's a ploy to ingratiate himself further, securing his ministerial perch amid South Sudan's fragile peace process. On the other hand, he's double-dipping by fooling Kiir into complacency. While feigning cooperation, Lol is reportedly engineering schemes to siphon petroleum revenuesโlooting the nation's black gold through shadowy deals and inflated contracts.
Billions in oil money vanish into offshore accounts, with Lol at the helm, ensuring his personal empire grows while the government hollows out. He's selling Riek to Kiir for short-term gain, then betraying Kiir by bleeding the treasury dry. This dual game is not subtle; it's a virus in full replication mode, eating away at trust, unity, and resources. Why does Lol's treachery matter? South Sudan teeters on the edgeโethnic tensions simmer, the economy sputters on oil dependency, and peace accords fray under self-serving leaders. Lol embodies the rot: a Nuer chameleon who exploits tribal loyalties for personal ascent, then discards them. His coup plotting invited foreign meddling, weakening national sovereignty.
His betrayal of Riek fractured the opposition, prolonging instability. His ministerial looting starves development, leaving Juba's streets potholed and hospitals empty. President Kiir must see through the facade. Lol is not a reformer; he is a predator in minister's robes, destined to consume the system until nothing remains. The evidence is public and plentiful. Exile videos on YouTube archives show his anti-Kiir tirades. Appointment records confirm his Taban pivot and petroleum posting. Whispers of oil graft echo in parliamentary probes and international watchdogs like Global Witness. Fact-check it all, and the verdict is clear: Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth is poison. Expel the virus before it kills the host.
To be continued...rckey
