Africa-Press – South-Sudan. Members of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) loyal to detained First Vice President and Chairman Dr. Riek Machar have described the leader of the breakaway faction, Stephen Par Kuol, as a tool being used to destroy the party.
This comes after Par, who declared himself the interim chairman of the SPLM-IO in April, issued a statement suspending 33 members of the opposition movement on Tuesday.
In a letter obtained by Sudans Post, Par recalled the National Liberation Council Extraordinary Meeting held on the 9th April 2025 under Article 20.1 of the SPLM-IO Constitution, 2008 amended 2015, and invoked Article 28.1, suspending senior members not only from the party but also from their assignments in the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity and other mechanisms of the peace agreement.
Among those purportedly suspended were prominent figures like Angelina Teny, the Minister of Interior and partner of Machar, First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Oyet Nathaniel Pierino, Minister of Mining Martin Gama Abucha, and Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Pal Mai Deng.
The suspension comes a day after members of the SPLM-IO Political Bureau reiterated their loyalty to Machar, who has been in detention since March.
In a statement released Wednesday, Pal Mai Deng, the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation who also serves as the SPLM (IO) Chairperson of the National Committee for Information and Communication, questioned the legitimacy of Par and his ability to command the army.
“The SPLA (IO) forces and the civilians in SPLM/A (IO) controlled areas and elsewhere in South Sudan are now under constant attacks and bombardments by the regime and Ugandan occupation forces. These forces of SPLA (IO) are not under the command of Hon. Stephen Par,” he said.
“Among all the SPLA (IO) military ranks and files, not one of them has paid allegiance to Hon. Stephen Par Kuol. Not even a single foot soldier has gone to him. To a trained soldier, it is surprising and at the same time puzzling that someone who does not have an army and is not in command and control of the forces gives himself the title of Commander-in-Chief,” Mai added.
The chairperson of the information committee described the suspension by Par as “emptiness” from someone without a legitimate authority over the leadership structure of the party.
“In the suspension document without the subject title that Hon. Stephen Par signed, he (Stephen) assigned himself the title of Commander-in-Chief. This begs the question: Commander-in-Chief of which forces? It is emptiness,” Mai stated.
“Again, in the same suspension letter, Hon. Stephen Par has titled himself as the Interim Chairman of the SPLM/A (IO). Regarding this, Hon Stephen was dismissed by the SPLM/A (IO) leadership, and as a result, has no authority to suspend any SPLM (IO) member. On this basis, he does not have the legitimate right to claim part of or be a part of the SPLM/A (IO),” he added.
Mr Mai accused Par of getting coerced by, and submitting to the regime in Juba, saying: “Hon. Stephen is seized by one thing: fear as a result of his one-day detention by the regime’s security operatives. Because of fear of his life and detention, he has been cowed into submission and has accepted to be used by the SPLM IG as a destructive tool to destroy the SPLM/A (IO) and to abrogate the R-ARCSS.”
Since declaring himself the interim chairman of the SPLM-IO, Mr Par maintained that party members who fled the country for their safety cannot implement the peace agreement after the government launched a crackdown targeting senior opposition members affiliated with Machar’s party.
On 9th May 09, 2025, the High Level Standing Committee on the Implementation of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan, recognised the interim leadership of Par as “legitimate”.
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