Peter Lam Both, the SPLM Secretary General - Credit: Office of the FVP - March 29, 2022

The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement says, the recent utterances by its Secretary General allegedly inciting tribal sentiment has been taken out of context.

On January 25, 2023, Peter Lam Both said in his speech at SPLM Secretariat, that South Sudanese should avoid following leaders based on tribal lines.

But Bol Makueng, the party Secretary for External Relations says Lam Both’s statement was manipulated to portray a notion that he made a tribal incitement and agitation.

The clip widely shared on social media raised concerns among the citizens on social media.

Makueng, who called a press conference to defend Lam, described the social media views as “propaganda” against the party Secretary General.

Speaking to journalists in Juba on Tuesday, Makueng termed the social media sentiments as “wicked”.

“This has been taken out of context. It is intended to give a positive information on a propaganda, a wicked one that is concerted against the SPLM Secretary General Peter Lam Both,” said Makueng.

“This is on two counts. One there is video clip – a small part of a bigger speech which was picked up by people who have an intention to incite and agitate hatred and violence among our people.”

“Second, there is also a statement on social media which is signed by someone. In that statement, he has stated two things, they claimed that Comrade Peter Lam Both made a hate speech to incite violence. The second, he said, the communal violence which are taking place all over the country, are political tools to divide people of South Sudan by the SPLM, this is very wicked, and it is ridiculous”.

But Oyet Nathaniel, the Deputy Chair of the SPM-IO took to his social media describing the words of Peter Lam Both as hate speech and a tribal incitement.

“I am deeply concerned and disappointed by the growing level of hate speeches and tribal incitement by some senior members of SPLM Party, latest being genocidal utterances by the Secretary General of SPLM, Peter Lam Both,” Oyet wrote on his page.

He said that such utterances are never slips of the tongue but a calculated statement of a group Peter Lam Both represents.

Oyet called on the parties to the Agreement, other stakeholders and the guarantors to take note of such violations of the Peace Agreement particularly the Permanent Ceasefire and Cessation of Hostilities and hold Peter Lam Both to account.

However, Bol Makueng insists that the statements by the party Secretary General did not intend to disunite South Sudanese.

“It has to be stated that the statement which Comrade Peter Lam made was not intended to destroy peace or dismantle peace as claimed. The only thing happening now is that, Comrade Peter Lam is a victim of the scenario: “Say the truth and the truth shall set you free”.