Photographed Police Promotion Decree Prompts Questions About Rank, Representation and Records
The supplied images show parts of a 12 October decree. They do not establish the full list or the ethnicity of 340 officers.
South Sudan Press · 20 October 2026
Photographs supplied to South Sudan Press show portions of a document headed “Promotion of Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers to Various Ranks in the South Sudan National Police Service,” bearing a Republic of South Sudan presidential heading and the date 12 October 2026. The first photographed page cites section 32(3) of the Police Service Act, 2009, and begins a list of colonels promoted to brigadier.
Other supplied photographs show disconnected pages of names and rank changes. They are insufficient to authenticate the complete order, determine how many officers were promoted, or confirm that every page belongs to the same signed instrument. A figure circulated by ABTV says 340 officers were promoted and assigns 329 to the Dinka ethnic group, nine to Equatorian groups and two to Balanda. South Sudan Press has not obtained the original complete decree or an official demographic breakdown. Names alone cannot reliably establish ethnicity.
The public-interest question is whether promotions were made under published criteria and in a way that supports a representative and professional police service. The Police Service, Presidency and Ministry of Interior should provide the signed order and complete annex, the promotion board’s criteria, ranks and years of service, appeal arrangements and any voluntarily collected demographic data with a clear methodology.
Until that record exists, the reported ethnicity totals are unverified claims and should not be presented as a proven census of the promoted officers. The photographed excerpts are evidence that a document circulated; they do not settle authenticity or fairness.