By Yiep Joseph
A civil society activist has called on the government, and the incumbent government in particular, to embrace dialogue in order to prevent further splits.
In a statement to the media, Edmund Yakani, the Executive Director for Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), urged the government to organized dialogue among South Sudanese.
According to Yakani, such an initiative will reduce more splits and the formation of armed groups in the country.
Yakini’s statement followed the recent alleged report of one of the senior government officials forming his own party and army.
According to the activist, the civil society has been calling on the government to embrace dialogue to address the issues in the country.
He added that during dialogue all the burning issues are addressed and peace prevails among South Sudanese.
Yakani urged the political elites to accept dialogue and ensure that the country does not split into small armed groups.
“We have multiple times said our early warnings indicate a chance of the country breaking down into pockets of armed groups that may be very hard to resolve or to bring to the same table in order to find an amicable solution to the political crisis in the country,” Yakani said.
“That is why we have multiple times called for South Sudanese to South Sudanese dialogue to resolve the political crisis the country is facing,” he added.
He called on South Sudanese to drop the idea of armed rebellion and rather focus on dialogue to address differences.
Yesterday South Sudan faced another alleged rebellion two months after Nhial Deng Nhial quit the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Government (SPLM-IG) to form the South Sudan Salvation Movement (SSSM), citing a lack of leadership direction.
Lt. Gen. Wilson Deng Kuoirot, the former Deputy Chief of General Staff (Operations) of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and former South Sudan’s Ambassador to South Africa, was alleged to have declared the formation of the National Uprising Movement/Army (NUM/A) to challenge the transitional government.
It was alleged that on 28 December 2025, Deng issued a sweeping statement highlighting the “failure” of South Sudan’s First Republic (2011–2025) and calling for the dissolution of the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU).
On October 15, 2025, Nhial Deng Nhial, a senior member of South Sudan’s ruling party, said he was freezing his membership and launching a new movement aimed at wresting control of the SPLM party from its current leadership, which he accused of betraying the country’s founding ideals.
In an 18-page declaration shared with the media, Nhial, a member of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) Political Bureau, delivered a sharp critique of President Salva Kiir’s administration, accusing it of corruption, insecurity, and a refusal to hold long-delayed elections.
The move marks a significant split within the upper ranks of the SPLM, which has ruled South Sudan since independence in 2011.