The current president of South Sudan has been accused of setting up a “dictatorship” and “state capture”
South Sudan’s main opposition movement has called its supporters to mobilize for “regime change” after the government charged its leader, First Vice President Riek Machar, with crimes against humanity.
Several local outlets reported on Tuesday, citing a statement signed by acting party chairman Oyet Nathaniel Pierino and circulated on X, that the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM/SPLA-IO) had accused President Salva Kiir’s administration of setting up a “dictatorship.”
“The SPLM /SPLA-IO hereby calls upon all its supporters, members in the political and military wings, the citizens of the Republic of South Sudan to report for National Service in defense of the citizens and the country and use all means available to regain the country and sovereignty,” the statement reads.
“The SPLM /SPLA-IO shall work to effect in the Republic of South Sudan a regime change,” the party added.
The announcement came shortly after Justice Minister Ruben Madol filed charges against Machar and Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol over their alleged role in ethnic militia attacks on national forces earlier this year. Both of them were suspended by presidential decree on Thursday.
Kiir and Machar have shared power under a fragile agreement since the end of South Sudan’s 2013-2018 civil war, a conflict that displaced millions and left an estimated 400,000 dead.
Clashes in South Sudan earlier this year led to the deaths of several government soldiers after a UN helicopter came under fire. The South Sudan People’s Defense Forces are battling the White Army militia, which is composed largely of Nuer fighters, the vice president’s ethnic group.
Machar has since been placed under house arrest on accusations of fueling the conflict.
South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011, has remained volatile despite a peace deal in 2018 that ended the civil war. SPLM-IO warned in March that detaining Machar would effectively nullify that agreement.
The UN and several governments have urged the vice president’s release, warning that continued detention risks a renewal of the civil war. Russia has called on all sides to recommit to the 2018 peace deal.
