A former South Sudan finance minister is the latest former government official arrested in a wave of recent detentions in the country.

The latest arrest came Friday when Bak Barnaba Chol was taken into custody while attempting to cross the border into Uganda.

His arrest followed that of another former minister of finance and planning, Marial Dongrin Ater, who was fired in August.

In the past week, a former central bank governor, a former undersecretary for the ministry of petroleum, and a general in the domestic intelligence agency previously posted to the same ministry have been detained.

The exact reasons for the arrests remain unclear.

‘Not political’

Government spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny told local media outlet Eye Radio that the arrests were “not political” and were a “direct response to irregularities identified within the monetary system.” He said that a committee was investigating “financial malpractices.”

Edmund Yakani, a prominent civic leader, said Saturday that the mood in the capital, Juba, was tense among politicians.

“So far, these arrests have mostly targeted financial institutions, but if the arrests carry into the security sectors it will be very dangerous," he said.

The war in Sudan is hurting South Sudan’s economy, which is overwhelmingly dependent on oil exports. All of South Sudan’s oil flows through pipelines in Sudan.

Since the Sudan war began in April 2023, pipeline ruptures have at times put more than 60% of oil production offline. The World Bank estimates that South Sudan’s economy shrunk 24% in 2025.