Kosti Manibe Ngai

Kosti Manibe Ngai (1947 or 1948 – 11 August 2026) was a South Sudanese politician, associated for much of his career with the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M).

He worked as the SPLA/M education commissioner in the early 2000s and, following peace agreements, worked as a government minister in both the Government of National Unity and in the South Sudanese regional government.

Upon the country's independence, he was appointed the caretaker Minister for Cabinet Affairs in the Cabinet of South Sudan and, subsequently, the country's Minister of Finance and Economic Planning.

He was dismissed from this post in 2013 by president Salva Kiir over allegations of corruption; Kiir subsequently dismissed much of his cabinet and, at the beginning of the South Sudanese Civil War, the government accused Manibe and other senior SPLM politicians of planning a coup and had him arrested.

Manibe was released the following month into Kenya. He remained politically active, associated with Pagan Amum and the United People's Alliance in his later years. Manibe died in August 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya.

Education

Manibe attended the Rumbek Senior Secondary School in Sudan for two years; however, part way through his attendance, the school closed. He moved to Uganda, assisted by Anyanya soldiers.[1] He graduated from the Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, where he studied arts; Manibe also studied at the Khartoum School of Mass Communication.[2][3]

Career

Manibe initially worked in church administration, joining the Sudan Council of Churches in 1978.[4][3] By 1988, he had become a Deputy General Secretary at the organization's offices in Juba.[5][6] By 1991, he had gone on leave. He also edited the newspaper Nile Mirror.[3]

Manibe later joined the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M), where he worked as their education commissioner in the early 2000s.[4] After the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement by the SPLM and the government of Sudan in 2005, establishing South Sudan as an autonomous region, Manibe became the minister of humanitarian affairs at the Government of National Unity in Khartoum. He served in the role until 2007, when he became the minister of investment. From June 2010 to July 2011, he worked in the South Sudanese government as the minister of cabinet affairs.[4]

South Sudan became independent on 9 June 2011, following a referendum earlier than year. The next day, Manibe was appointed as the caretaker Minister for Cabinet Affairs in the newly-formed Cabinet of South Sudan.[7][8] In August of that year, he was appointed the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, succeeding David Deng Athorbei.[4] His appointment was criticized by those who felt he did not have enough experience for the posting.[9] In his role, he helped South Sudan establish both financial institutions and relationships with financial institutions.[10]

In June 2013, Manibe and fellow minister Deng Alor Kuol were suspended from their positions by president Salva Kiir, via presidential decree, over allegations of corruption.[4][11][12] Two two men were accused of an "unprocedural transfer" of nearly $8m to the Daffy Investment Group, ostensibly to buy fire resistant safes for government buildings.[13][14] Kiir removed both men's immunities[11] and announced an investigation, to be led by John Gatwech Lul; Manibe responded by calling the allegations "a politically instigated motive to drag my name into it".[13][15]

The suspensions came as part of a series of dismissals by Kiir;[16] their suspensions were criticized by vice president Riek Machar and SPLM secretary general Pagan Amum. After critiquing more of Kiir's dismissals, and after Machar announced he would run against Kiir in a future election, Kiir suspended both of them[14][16] alongside the rest of his cabinet.[17][18]

The following December, at the onset of the South Sudanese Civil War, Manibe and nine other senior SPLM politicians, including John Luk Jok and Gier Choung Aloung, were arrested; the South Sudan government accused them, alongside Machar, of planning a coup.[4][18] He was released from custody into Kenya in January.[10][19] The group would later become known in the country as G10, or SPLM Former Detainees.[20][4]

In later years, Manibe allied himself with Pagan Amum and the United People's Alliance.[4] In 2017, Manibe and several other opposition politicians were invited to a national dialogue committee. Manibe learnt of his appointment after it was publically announced and declined it.[20]

Personal life and death

Kosti Manibe Ngai was born in Western Equatoria.[21] He was married to Reverend Nediye Gone.[4]

In 2021, Manibe was diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis.[10] In the final weeks of his life, he was hospitalized at the M.P. Shah Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya, while undergoing treatment for heart disease. He died there on 11 August 2026, at the age of 78.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Kindersley, Nicki; Wawa, Yosa (November 2025). "Rebellious Schooling in a Violent (Post)colony: Expanding the Field of Education History in South Sudan, c. 1905–1972". History of Education Quarterly. 65 (4): 450–468. doi:10.1017/heq.2025.10079. ISSN 0018-2680.
  2. ↑ Nyaba, Adwok (2019). South Sudan: Elites, Ethnicity, Endless Wars and the Stunted. Mkuki na Nyota Publishers. p. 166. ISBN 9789987083879. Project MUSE book 65822.
  3. 1 2 3 Minear, Larry (1991). Humanitarianism Under Siege: A Critical Review of Operation Lifeline Sudan. Red Sea Press. pp. 193–194.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Former South Sudan finance minister Kosti Manibe dies". Radio Tamazuj. 11 August 2026. Archived from the original on 11 August 2026. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  5. ↑ Abdul Rahman Abu Zayd Ahmed, ed. (1988). War Wounds: Development costs of conflict in southern Sudan. Panos Institute. p. 112.
  6. ↑ 1985 Mission yearbook for prayer & study. Presbyterian Church. p. 284.
  7. ↑ The Newly Appointed Ministers, 10 July 2011
  8. ↑ "President Salva Kiir sends condolences message to Rumbek Catholic Church". Tribune Business News. 23 July 2011. ProQuest 878699113.
  9. ↑ "Key South Sudan ministers deny they are underqualified". Sudan Tribune. 1 January 1970. Archived from the original on 6 October 2025. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 Lasuba, Memoscar (11 August 2026). "Kosti Manibe Ngai: A Life in South Sudan's Liberation Struggle and State-Building". Eye Radio. Archived from the original on 11 August 2026. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  11. 1 2 "South Sudan's Salva Kiir sacks Kosti Manibe and Deng Alor". BBC News. 19 June 2013. Archived from the original on 22 February 2025. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
  12. ↑ "Chronology of Significant International Events (1999–2017)", The Statesman's Yearbook Companion, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 819–932, 2019, doi:10.1057/978-1-349-95839-9_1511, ISBN 978-1-349-95838-2, retrieved 12 August 2026{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link) Full access available to users of The Wikipedia Library.
  13. 1 2 "SOUTH SUDAN: Financial Scandal". Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series. 50 (6). July 2013. doi:10.1111/j.1467-825X.2013.05157.x. ISSN 0001-9844.Full access available to users of The Wikipedia Library.
  14. 1 2 Deng, Francis M. (2016). Bound by Conflict. Fordham University Press. p. 17. ISBN 9780823272983. Project MUSE book 43293. Full access available to users of The Wikipedia Library.
  15. ↑ "My suspension politically motivated, says finance minister". Sudan Tribune. 26 June 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
  16. 1 2 Bereketeab, Redie (2014). "Post-Liberation State Building in South Sudan: Potentials and Challenges". Journal of African Foreign Affairs. 1 (1): 25–60. ISSN 2056-564X. JSTOR 26664015.
  17. ↑ Tisdall, Simon (24 July 2013). "South Sudan president sacks cabinet in power struggle". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
  18. 1 2 "Former South Sudan ministers arrested over 'coup'". BBC News. 17 December 2013. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
  19. ↑ Poni, Lucy; Green, Andrew (29 January 2014). "Seven South Sudan Political Detainees Released". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 18 September 2025. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
  20. 1 2 "Kosti Manibe declines appointment into national dialogue committee". Radio Tamazuj. 30 April 2017. Archived from the original on 11 February 2026. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
  21. ↑ "MANIBE NGAI, Kosti". The International Who's Who 2017. Vol. 2 (80th ed.). Routledge. 2016. p. 1414.
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