Stephen Par Kuol, the Minister of Peace Building, and the Interim leader of SPLM/A-IO in Juba - (Photo: PPU).

JUBA, (Eye Radio) – A group of SPLM-In Opposition officials has appointed Peacebuilding Minister Stephen Par Kuol as the party’s interim chairperson and Federal Affairs Minister Lasuba Wango as his deputy, until First Vice President Riek Machar is released from house arrest.

The Consultative Meeting held at a hotel in Juba on Wednesday also appointed Agok Makur as SPLM-IO Secretary General – amid escalating division involving Par’s group and self-exiled Deputy Chairman Oyet Nathaniel.

In the statement, the group recommitted to the 2018 revitalized peace agreement and reiterated appeal for the release of First Vice President Machar and several SPLM-IO members under detention following the violence in Nasir County in Upper Nile.

The SPLM-IO faction also called on parties involved in the ongoing military offensives to cease hostilities and create an environment conducive to peaceful dialogue.

It added that the “ongoing advance” of SSPDF troops towards Ulang County in Upper Nile State for redeployment to neighboring Nasir town must be halted to give chance to political solutions.

Further, the group declared that it has delinked itself from First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Hon. Oyet Nathaniel and will henceforth treat him as former deputy chairman of the party.

Some top members of the party, including Interior Minister Angelina Teny, Mining Minister Martin Abucha and MP Gai Mayen Luk, were not present in the meeting. It is also unclear why the party’s elected Secretary General Regina Kaba was replaced.

In a statement on Facebook, Mayen accused external entities of sowing division within the party as smokescreen against multiple challenges facing citizens including an ailing economy and a dire humanitarian situation.

“It is really amazing how the SPLM-IG has somehow succeeded in making a significant section of our gullible population suddenly forget all about the ailing economy where most families live in abject poverty in which they struggle to get one meal a day.”

On April 6, Oyet Nathaniel suspended four senior members of the party including Stephen Par Kuol and Agok Makur over an alleged plot to replace Dr. Riek Machar as First Vice President and Chairman of the party.

According to Article 1.7.2. of the 2018 peace agreement, the Chairman of the SPLM/A-IO Dr. Riek Machar Teny shall assume the position of the First Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan for the duration of the Transitional Period.

Article 1.7.5. further stipulates that in the event that the post of the First Vice President falls vacant during the Transitional Period, for any reason, including mental infirmity or physical incapacity of the office holder, the replacement shall be nominated by the top leadership body of the SPLM/A –IO.