Stephen Par Kuol, South Sudan’s Minister of Peace-Building, has declared himself the interim chairman of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) amid the detention of the party’s leader, First Vice President Riek Machar.
At a press conference in Juba on April 9, 2025, Par announced the appointment of Losuba Ludoru Wongo as interim deputy chairman and Agok Makur Kur, a former deputy finance minister, as interim secretary-general.
This move follows heightened tensions after clashes between the White Army, an armed youth group, and the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) in Nasir County, Upper Nile State. Subsequent to these events, President Salva Kiir placed Machar under house arrest.
Par stated that the SPLM-IO has “delinked” itself from Nathaniel Oyet Pierino, who had been acting as interim chairman since Machar’s detention, citing Oyet’s absence from Juba. He emphasized that the party’s headquarters is in Juba and cannot be led by a “self-exiled leader.”
Earlier this week, Oyet suspended Par and three others for allegedly conspiring to oust Machar with the support of President Kiir’s SPLM party. Par rejected the suspension, calling it “the joke of the year” and asserting that Oyet lacked the constitutional authority for such action.
Par reaffirmed the SPLM-IO’s commitment to the implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement and called for Machar’s immediate release, stating that his detention undermines peace and dialogue efforts in South Sudan.
