The internal split within South Sudan’s main opposition party has widened after parliament named George Mabior Mayom as acting chief whip of the SPLM-IO, replacing Farouk Gatkuoth Kam, a strong ally of suspended First Vice President Riek Machar.
The appointment was confirmed Thursday during a session chaired by First Deputy Speaker Ambrose Lomin Pitia, who himself replaced Nathaniel Oyet Perino, another Machar ally, earlier this month. Both moves were part of a broader shake-up initiated by a presidential decree in August that also dismissed Deng Deng Akon, former speaker of the Council of States.
The SPLM-IO fractured in April, when a faction led by Peacebuilding Minister Stephen Par Kuol announced its own leadership and pledged to collaborate with the government to advance the 2018 revitalized peace deal.
Meanwhile, Machar’s loyalists insist he remains the legitimate leader of SPLM-IO. Machar, now in house arrest, faces accusations of treason linked to a March militia attack in Nasir County.
Observers say the latest parliamentary changes consolidate the power of the pro-government SPLM-IO faction while weakening Machar’s influence both in parliament and within the opposition movement.
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