Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The SPLM-IO, under interim chairman Stephen Par Kuol, says his appointment is meant to prevent a leadership vacuum, internal divisions, and confusion, emphasising that the party is neither a personal property nor a family enterprise.
The SPLM-IO leader described members of the Political Bureau who rejected his leadership following the detention of First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar as having ‘chickened out’ during a critical moment for the party.
In a press release signed by the deputy interim chair, Losuba Loduru Wango, dated May 20, 2025, it stated that the interim leadership is not an act of betrayal to FVP Dr. Riek Machar but to protect the party.
The party says it is acting to preserve the legacy of the party that has been built over time.
Senior SPLM-IO leaders in Juba, including Interior Minister Angelina Teny, have rejected Stephen Par’s leadership claim and reaffirmed that Dr. Riek Machar remains the legitimate chairman of the party.
This comes nearly two months after Machar was placed under house arrest.
Shortly after his detention in March, Stephen Par and a small group of SPLM-IO members held a meeting at the Palm Africa Hotel in Juba, where they declared Par as the interim party leader.
However, in a statement released on Monday, May 19, Angelina Teny and other top members of the SPLM-IO Political Bureau said they do not recognize Par’s faction.
They emphasized that Machar remains the official chairman of the SPLM-IO and rejected any notion of an interim leadership.
The statement, signed by 18 senior SPLM-IO leaders and members of the Political Bureau, stressed that the peace agreement remains intact but is facing its most difficult and damaging test since its signing.
The leaders further called for the immediate release of Dr. Machar and other detained SPLM-IO members and urged party members serving in government and peace implementation institutions to remain committed to their duties.
In response on Thursday, the SPLM-IO under Par said the establishment of the interim leadership is to ensure the strength and relevance of the movement to the public, not as a personal property.
It added that everywhere in the world, and across history, interim leadership has been a standard response in a situation of temporary incapacity or detention, like “our case now in South Sudan”.
According to the group, this is to prevent vacuum or confusion or factionalism within the party members, adding that it shows the maturity of the party open to the public, not a family business.
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