By Matik Kueth
The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in Opposition (SPLM-IO) called for the unconditional release of First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar, reaffirming the party’s commitment to dialogue as the best option for addressing the political tensions in the country.
In a statement extended to King Media on Tuesday, Pal Mai Deng, Spokesperson of the SPLM-IO, called on the government to release Dr. Machar and other political detainees.
He reiterated SPLM-IO’s commitment to fully implementing the Revitalized Peace Agreement in letter and spirit.
“The SPLM/A-I0 is committed to dialogue as the only means for resolving challenges facing the implementation and violations of the R-ARCSS and calls for the unconditional release of H.E. Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon, the First Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan and Chairman and Commander-In-Chief of SPLM/A (I0), and other political and military detainees, and the unconditional withdrawal of all foreign troops from the territory of South Sudan,” Deng said.
Deng stated that SPLM-IO would remain a vital feature of the R-TGoNU under the R-ARCSS and urged all R-ARCSS parties to commit to its implementation.
He argued that the SPLM-IG and its supporters’ narrative, which claims that individuals who fled Juba due to continued persecution and crackdowns by Security organs have deserted the R-TGoNU, is untrue and cheap propaganda.
“Their aim is to abrogate the R-ARCSS through the appointment of SPLM-IG members and SPLM-I0 defectors to National and State positions meant for the SPLM-IO, based on the power-sharing agreement,” he stated, adding that they do that in further violation of the R-ARCSS.
Deng accused the SPLM-IG of deploying Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) to South Sudan to subdue the SPLM/A-IO and weaken the R-ARCSS.
Michael Makuei, the government spokesperson, on March 17 in a press conference, stated that the UDPF were brought to South Sudan to secure Juba for a security pact to address threats posed by the SPLM-IO.
He stated that UPDF “technical and support units” are presently working in South Sudan as part of a military agreement between the two countries, which was originally forged to combat the Lord’s Resistance Army.
However, considering the preceding developments, the SPLM-IO spokesperson emphasized that a significant number of their political cadres and military officers within various institutions and mechanisms of peace implementation had fled Juba for cantonment areas, while others had fled to neighboring countries for safety, escaping political purges and persecution.
“Currently, the SPLM-IG’s troops and their tribal militias are carrying out unjustified imprisonment, torture, forced disappearance, and summary executions of members of the ethnic Nuer group in Malakal Town, Upper Nile State,” he stressed.
“They continue to wage military campaigns against our forces in the cantonment sites and training centers of Rirangu, Wunaliet, Muni, Nyara, Rejaf, Rambur, Aswaa, and Thorgwang, and against the civilian population in Nasir, Ulang, Fangak, Akobo Counties,” he lamented.
He further called on the regional and international community to commission an independent investigation into the violence, human rights abuses, and war crimes in Nasir and Ulang counties, Upper Nile State, as well as Western Equatoria State.
SPLM/A-IO has faced enormous obstacles since Dr. Riek Machar, and his wife Angelina Teny, Minister of Interior were put under house arrest by the NSS on March 26, 2025, while his bodyguards were moved to another location.
Regional appeal
On March 2, 2025, the United States appealed to President Salva Kiir to release Dr. Machar, stressing that it is time for the country’s leaders to demonstrate their commitment to the peace agreement.
On March 27, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) also called on all parties to the agreement to exercise restraint and uphold the 2018 revitalized peace deal following alleged reports of Machar’s detention.
Nicolas Haysom, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMISS, cautioned that South Sudanese leaders stand on the brink of relapsing into widespread conflict or taking the country forward towards peace, recovery, and democracy in the spirit of the consensus that was reached in 2018 when they signed and committed to implementing a Revitalized Peace Agreement.
On March 28, Kenya’s Special Envoy and Former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, arrived in Juba to help mediate the ongoing tensions in South Sudan, but claimed he was denied access to meet Machar by President Kiir.
On April 2, 2025, the African Union’s Panel of the Wise arrived in Juba and met with President Kiir in a last-minute effort to de-escalate rising tensions and support the implementation of the R-ARCSS. The group’s request to meet with Dr. Machar was also denied.
SPLM-IO’s saga genesis
Despite peace monitors, regional and international community’s appeal for dialogue between Machar and Kiir, the SPLM-IO faced another challenge when a group led by Stephen Phar Kuol, Minister of Peacebuilding, declared himself the interim chairperson of the party until the release of Machar.
This occurred just days after he was suspended from his duties by Oyet Nathaniel, Deputy and Acting Chairman of the SPLM-IO, as the party’s representative to the R-JMEC.
Gatwech Lam Puoch was also suspended, and Yolanda Awel, former Minister of Health, and Martin Abucha Gama, Minister of Mining, were appointed as the new representatives to the R-JMEC.
Kuol claimed that his faction has “delinked” from Nathaniel, emphasizing a rift among the party’s leadership, a move that observers view as a tactic to violate the R-ARCSS.