A minister for a moment: The short-lived tenure of former health minister Dr. John Gai Yoah
On Thursday, Dr. John Gai Yoh held a reception at 9:00 am to mark his official assumption of office as Minister of Health. By 8:00 pm that same evening, he had been removed from the position.
President Salva Kiir dismissed Dr. Gai and replaced him with Dak Duop Bichiok in a presidential decree announced on the state-run SSBC, bringing his tenure to just one working day.
No explanation was given for the change.
Dr. Gai had been appointed on September 28 and took the oath of office on September 30 as caretaker Minister of Health.
He was among four officials appointed to serve in the caretaker cabinet. Others included Peter Mayen Majongdit as Caretaker Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Dr. Kuyok Abol Kuyok as Caretaker Minister of General Education and Instruction, and Denay Jock Chagor as Caretaker Minister of Wildlife, Tourism and Conservation.
The appointments followed President Kiir’s decision to dissolve the cabinet and parliament on September 22, as part of preparations for the upcoming elections scheduled for December 22, 2026.
Thirteen ministers were initially appointed as caretaker ministers out of 35 ministries, with the remaining ministries to be headed by undersecretaries. The president later appointed Dr. Gai and three other officials, bringing the number of caretaker cabinet ministers to 17.
Dr. Gai is not the only official to have served for a short period.
In 2025, Martin Mabior Mawien became one of the officials with a brief tenure after he was dismissed as Undersecretary in the Ministry of Information a day after his appointment.
In 2022, President Salva Kiir sacked Tiop Monyluak as the chief administrator of the Ruweng Administrative Area after a few weeks in office. No explanation was also given for his removal.
President Kiir has also, on multiple occasions, cancelled the appointments of officials, including members of parliament, after their appointments had been announced.
