Stephen Par Kuol addressing the press during the consultative meeting organized at the Palm Africa Hotel in Juba. |Credit: Sudans Post|.
By Cosmos Khamis, |Guest Writer|,
The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement In-Opposition (SPLM-IO), a major opposition group, has experienced a significant upheaval. A faction led by Stephen Par Kuol, the current minister of peacebuilding, has ousted Riek Machar and his Deputy, Oyet Nathaniel Pierino, amidst ongoing political and military tensions in some parts of the country.
In a consultative meeting held in Juba on Wednesday (9 April), Stephen Par Kuol was named the interim chairperson, Losuba Lodoru Wongo (Minister of Federal Affairs) as his deputy, and Agok Makur (former Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning) as the party’s secretary-general.
This action follows Oyet Nathaniel’s order on Tuesday, 8 April, suspending Stephen Par Kuol and three colleagues for allegedly conspiring to replace Riek Machar Teny, who is currently detained in connection with the Nasir-Ulang conflict.
First Vice President Riek Machar, Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chuol, and several other SPLM-IO members were rounded up and detained in Juba by security forces acting under President Salva Kiir’s orders, due to heightened military tensions in Western Equatoria, Western Bahr El Ghazal, and Upper Nile states.
Stephen Par was also arrested but later released on 7 March, following regional pressure to uphold the revitalized peace agreement signed in 2018.
However, top military officials within the SPLA-IO have rejected Stephen Par and Losuba Wango, affirming their recognition of Riek Machar and Oyet Nathaniel as the legitimate leaders and signatories of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement.
Stephen Par has denied claims of a coup against Riek Machar, stating that his position is temporary until Riek Machar is released from house arrest.
He defended the mobilization of the party’s National Liberation Council members in Juba, to change the party’s leadership, citing conformity with the party’s constitution amid military and political tensions.
However, the SPLM-IO members in Eastern Equatoria State informed the peace guarantors and the people of South Sudan that they were not part of the decision taken by Stephen Par and his group in Juba on Wednesday (9 April).
They expressed their allegiance to Riek Machar in the spirit of smooth implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.
“We are rejecting the unconstitutional interim replacement of (Commander-In-Chief) of the SPLM/A-IO organized by Stephen Par Kuol and his associates this morning 9/4/2025 at Palm Africa Hotel. We call upon the immediate release of Dr. Riek Machar and the rest of our comrades so that the peace process comes back to the process of implementation. We also appeal to the guarantors of the agreement to intervene,” Mary Alphonse Lodira said in a statement.
“We call upon all stakeholders to the peace agreement to prove to the people of the world and South Sudan that their public statements on the need to implement the peace agreement in letter and spirit to honor their words. Their words should not just be words carefully chosen to simply impress or appease certain people. They must pragmatically walk the talk so that our citizens can take them seriously and instill hopes and confidence.”
Acting Chief of General Staff of the SPLA-IO, Lt. Gen. Peter Thok Chuol, alongside the Deputy Director General of the National Security Services, Lt. Gen. Yiey Dak, instructed all the sector and division commanders to reject Stephen Par and his group.
They described Stephen Par and his group as ‘betrayers of the movement.’
“The SPLA-IO is under the full command and control of H.E. Dr. Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon and in his absence, Gen. Nathaniel Oyet Pierino is in charge,” SPLA-IO Spokesperson Co. Lam Paul Gabriel said in a statement.
In 2016 following the outbreak of the second civil war, Gen. Taban Deng Gai defected from SPLM/A-IO to the government and replaced Riek Machar who was then on the run to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In 2018, Riek Machar was appointed first vice president as part of the power-sharing agreement called the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (RARCSS).
