| James Wani Igga | |
| Office1: | Second Vice President of South Sudan |
| President1: | Salva Kiir Mayardit |
| Term Start1: | 21 February 2020[1] |
| Predecessor1: | Position established |
| Office2: | 2nd Vice President of South Sudan |
| President2: | Salva Kiir Mayardit |
| Term Start2: | 25 August 2013 |
| Term End2: | 21 February 2020 |
| Predecessor2: | Riek Machar |
| Successor2: | Position abolished |
| Office3: | Speaker of the National Legislative Assembly |
| Term Start3: | 2011 |
| Term End3: | August 2013 |
| Predecessor3: | Office established |
| Successor3: | Manasseh Magok Rundial |
| Office4: | Secretary General of the SPLM |
| Birth Place: | Krillo,[2] Juba County, Central Equatoria, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan) |
| Nationality: | South Sudanese |
| Party: | SPLM |
| Residence: | Lobonok, Central Equatoria |
| Alma Mater: | Cairo |
| Allegiance: | SPLA (Torit) |
| Rank: | Zonal Commander |
| Commands: | Yei |
James Wani Igga (born 1949) is a South Sudanese who was the second vice president of South Sudan.[3] He was speaker of the National Legislative Assembly from 2011 to 2013[4] and secretary general of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement.[5]
Igga was born in 1949.[6] He is variously described to stem from the Bari[7] and Zande[8] ethnic groups and he is a Roman Catholic. He studied economics in Cairo.[7]
Igga joined the South Sudanese rebels in 1985, training in Cuba and Ethiopia. He rose rapidly through the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) ranks,[7] and, by 1987, had the rank of major and commanded the Shakus Battalion.[9] The same year, he was Zonal Commander of Central Equatoria and a member of the SPLA/M High Command.[10] He was reportedly well-respected among civilians.[11]
Igga was one of the SPLA's most senior representatives during negotiations with SPLA-Nasir. He represented Garang as the head of the SPLA-Torit delegation at peace talks in Nairobi in November 1991. In 1993, he accompanied Garang to Nairobi for a peacemaking seminar in June and to Kampala for an IGAD-mediated dialogue with the Nasir faction.[12] Igga had known Lam Akol, one of the Nasir leaders, since their time together in the Cuban training camp.[8]
As chairman of the SPLM Political Affairs Commission, Igga established the Technical Committee of Intellectuals in February 2000. This committee was tasked with planning the civil administration of Southern Sudan.[13]
Following the 2005 signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement establishing the autonomy of Southern Sudan, Igga was in charge of changing the SPLM from an insurgent strategic leadership to a political party. He was chosen as the speaker of Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly in 2005,[14] and he continued in that office until independence in 2011. In addition, he was appointed caretaker governor of Upper Nile State for the transitional period.[13]
Igga read out the proclamation of independence when the two Sudan's divided.[7] He continued as the legislative speaker of the lower house from 2011 to 2013.[15]
President Salva Kiir appointed Igga as vice president on 23 August 2013 to replace Riek Machar, who he had dismissed a month previously. He was required to resign as speaker.[16] Igga was unanimously confirmed by the National Assembly on 26 August.[17]
On 30 May 2020, Igga tested positive for COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Sudan.[18]
On 19 August 2020, six of Igga's bodyguards were killed in a road ambush by National Salvation Front rebels in Igga's hometown of Lobonok. He was not with those bodyguards at the time.[19]