By Matik Kueth
Veteran politician and former presidential affairs minister Nhial Deng Nhial has announced the formation of a new political party, accusing the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) of losing its founding vision, citing leadership paralysis and chronic mismanagement as the root causes of South Sudan’s worsening situation.
In a statement, Nhial, who’s also a former minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, declared the establishment of the South Sudan Salvation Movement (SSSM), a new platform he said would “revive the spirit and vision that once united our people under the SPLM.”
He said the SPLM, once a beacon of hope and liberation, has become “radar-less and consumed by personal interests.”
“The SPLM has lost its sense of purpose. Our country is adrift, consumed by greed and indifference. It is time to act, to revive our Movement and restore the principles of justice, unity, and service to our people,” Nhial stated.
Nhial, who was once a key ally of President Salva Kiir, said he had suspended his membership in the SPLM until the party “is once again fit for purpose.”
He slammed the current leadership for abandoning the vision of the late Dr. John Garang de Mabior, saying the movement now serves only the interests of a few at the expense of millions of struggling citizens.
Nhial pointed to the mismanagement of South Sudan’s oil wealth as one of the clearest signs of leadership failure.
According to him, the government neglected strategic plans to diversify oil export routes and build refineries, leaving the economy dangerously dependent and vulnerable when the war in Sudan disrupted oil exports in 2023.
“The leadership failed to safeguard our economy. The oil that was meant to be the lifeblood of our prosperity has instead become the symbol of our stagnation,” he lamented, adding that most public funds are directed to the Presidency and Defense, while vital sectors like agriculture “feed on crumbs.”
Nhial said the newly announced SSSM would operate under the United People’s Alliance (UPA), a coalition of opposition political and armed groups, to push for reforms, good governance, and respect for the rule of law.
He underlined that the SSSM was not meant to replace the SPLM but to “correct its course and restore its moral compass.”
Appealing for what he termed a “second liberation”, Nhial urged citizens, the security forces, and civil servants to unite in peaceful action to demand a new constitution and free and fair elections by 2026.
“We must reclaim our country and rebuild it into the peaceful, just, and prosperous state our people have long aspired to. The time for silence has passed. The time for renewal has come,” he urged.