South Sudan Opposition Appoints Interim Leadership Amid Boycott From top Party Officials

JUBA, Xinhua: South Sudan’s opposition party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO), on Wednesday appointed Stephen Par Kuol as the interim chairman, replacing First Vice President Riek Machar, who is still under house arrest.

Kuol, a member of the SPLM-IO political bureau and minister of peacebuilding in the transitional unity government, said during a consultative meeting with party members in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, that he was elected to steer the opposition party forward in the absence of Machar, who was detained on March 26.

Members of the party’s National Liberation Council approved Losuba Ludoru Wongo as the deputy chairman and Agok Makur Kur as the secretary-general.

Kuol assured that the opposition party remains committed to the implementation of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement signed to end years of conflict, despite claims by Nathaniel Oyet Pierino, the now exiled deputy chairman, that the peace deal had collapsed.

He said the SPLM-IO interim leadership has delinked itself from Pierino, who has been critical of the move to appoint the new leadership.

However, Pierino accused the leadership under Kuol of being compromised by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement party led by President Salva Kiir, with the intention to replace Machar.

Kuol said party members have called for the immediate release of Machar and other senior members of the party still in detention. He urged parties to end all military offensives to create an environment conducive to peaceful dialogue.

The meeting to establish the interim leadership was largely boycotted by top SPLM-IO officials, including the party’s Secretary-General Regina Kaba and Machar’s wife, Angelina Teny, who is also the country’s interior minister.

Lam Paul Gabriel, spokesperson for the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-in-Opposition (SPLM/A-IO), the armed wing of the party, said they would not support the decision to appoint the interim leadership of their party.

“The SPLM/A-IO is under the full command and control of Riek Machar and in his absence, Nathaniel Oyet Pierino is in charge,” Gabriel said in a statement on Wednesday.