Daijiworld Media Network - Juba

Juba, Apr 10: In a major political shake-up, South Sudan’s opposition party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO), has named Stephen Par Kuol as its interim Chairman, stepping in for First Vice President Riek Machar, who remains under house arrest since March 26.

Kuol, who also serves as the country’s Minister of Peacebuilding, was elected during a consultative meeting in Juba to lead the party through a turbulent period. The party also approved Losuba Ludoru Wongo as Deputy Chairman and Agok Makur Kur as Secretary-General.

While reaffirming the SPLM-IO's commitment to the 2018 revitalised peace agreement, Kuol distanced the new leadership from exiled Deputy Chairman Nathaniel Oyet Pierino, who recently declared the peace deal defunct and criticized the new appointments as illegitimate.

Pierino, in exile, accused the interim leadership of being influenced by President Salva Kiir’s ruling party, suggesting a deliberate attempt to oust Machar. In response, Kuol emphasized the SPLM-IO’s dedication to peace and urged for an immediate halt to military operations, along with the release of Machar and other detained leaders.

The move to install interim leadership has stirred controversy within the party. Key figures such as SPLM-IO Secretary-General Regina Kaba and Interior Minister Angelina Teny—Machar’s wife—boycotted the meeting.

Meanwhile, the SPLM/A-IO, the party’s armed wing, rejected the new appointments outright. Spokesperson Lam Paul Gabriel reaffirmed that the movement remains under Machar’s control and declared that in his absence, Pierino remains the acting authority.

The leadership struggle threatens to deepen divisions within the SPLM-IO and cast further uncertainty over the future of South Sudan’s fragile peace process.