South Sudan's President Salva Kiir Mayardit. PHOTO | REUTERS
The Sentry has published an investigation alleging a secret business empire tied to South Sudan’s First Family that has captured major national economic sectors – a report dismissed as a witch-hunt by President Salva Kiir’s office.
The investigation posted on The Sentry’s Atlas platform – shows a massive trove of data on the first family’s private dealings across petroleum, mining, banking, trade, aviation, logistics, and private security sectors.
Titled “Kiirdom: The Sprawling Corporate Kingdom of South Sudan’s First Family,” the report looked into extensive documentation from the South Sudan Ministry of Justice with the findings from numerous original investigations.
The Sentry said the corporate network of Kiir’s family includes high-profile businesspeople and politicians, as well as members of the military and National Security Service, both of which have engaged in “gross human rights violations.”
The investigation said several companies that included Kiir’s family members in their lists of shareholders received public contracts or letters of credit, which essentially guarantee from a bank to a seller that they’ll be paid by the buyer.
The Sentry, in examining a network of 126 companies, said it identified a number of red flags for trade-based money laundering.
It said the children and grandchildren of Kiir and his brother-in-law, Gregory Vasili, served as founding shareholders for a number of companies when they were still minors.
The Sentry said it identified seven of President Salva Kiir’s children as shareholders of South Sudanese companies, along with his wife, Mary Ayen Mayardit, and nieces and nephews.
Kiir’s brother-in-law, Gregory Vasili Dimitry Yalouris, an army general and former governor of Gogrial state who was sanctioned by the US in 2018 is a shareholder in 39 companies.
The Sentry identified members of Vasili’s family, including eight of his children—the nieces and nephews of Kiir—as shareholders in South Sudanese companies.
“The use of children, particularly minors, as proxies for the political elite is a strategy to avoid scrutiny and even evade sanctions. Many times, the children and grandchildren of Kiir and Vasili were minors or in their early 20s when they became shareholders,” it said.
South Sudan’s constitution prohibits high-ranking officials and other constitutional office holders from being involved in commercial business or receiving remuneration from any source other than the national government, the watchdog underscored.
However, it said the constitutional provision is often circumvented by having family members of officials listed as the shareholders on companies.
“Despite the provision also requiring that these officeholders make a declaration of their assets and liabilities, including those of their spouses and children, such declarations often remain confidential and are not subject to public scrutiny,” it noted.
The Sentry identified 70 companies with foreign shareholders in which members of the President’s family also held shares.
The group said the investigation is intended to support public scrutiny and compliance processes meant to mitigate corruption risks, thereby ensuring that companies connected to President Kiir and family members face enhanced due diligence commensurate with their risk profiles.
“Since independence, rather than work toward a secure and prosperous future, the Kiir regime has orchestrated destabilization, repression, violent conflict, and mass starvation while consolidating a lucrative corporate empire,” said John Prendergast, Co-Founder of The Sentry.
Meanwhile, the Office of the President said it categorically refutes “baseless and malicious allegations” accusing the first family and relatives in The Sentry report.
In a press statement, Lily Adhieu Martin, the Presidential Press Secretary said the claims are unfounded, lack credible evidence and are aimed at tarnishing the image of the First Family.
“This is not the first time that The Sentry, an organization based in the United States and funded by undisclosed sponsors with questionable motives, has launched a targeted smear campaign against the first family,” she said.
“The allegations presented as investigative findings are nothing more than a deliberate witch-hunt designed to undermine the first family and destabilize the country.”
Ms. Martin contended that South Sudan’s constitution does not prevent anyone including the family of the president from engaging in legitimate business activities.
“Like, any other citizens, they are entitled to invest, create employment opportunities and contribute to the economic development of the country. To suggest otherwise is discriminatory and unsubstantiated.”
The Sentry is an investigative and policy organization that seeks to disable multinational predatory networks that benefit from violent conflict, repression, and kleptocracy.
The Sentry says it aims to alter the warped incentive structures that continually undermine peace and good governance.
Support Eye Radio, the first independent radio broadcaster of news, information & entertainment in South Sudan.
Make a monthly or a one off contribution.
Copyright 2025. All rights reserved. Eye Radio is a product of Eye Media Limited.