JUBA – Former South Sudan opposition commander General James Koang Chuol Ranley has maintained his position as the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces’ Assistant Chief of Defense Forces for Training.
General Koang, a highly respected and educated opposition commander defected from the main armed opposition SPLM/A (IO) led by First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny in January 2020 after accusing Machar of turning the rebel group into a family enterprise.
He defected from the army’s fifth infantry division in Bentiu in December 2013 following the outbreak of fighting in the country’s capital Juba that was triggered by disagreement at a national convention of the ruling SPLM party.
He served as the SPLA-IO’s deputy chief of staff for operation and then for administration and finance.
Following the signing of the revitalized peace agreement, differences engulfed the main armed opposition group following accusations by many senior members of the SPLM-IO leading up to his defection.
When President Salva Kiir Mayardit reshuffled the SSPDF command, he was appointed as the army’s assistant chief of defense forces for training, a position he maintained after newly-appointed army chief, General Santino Deng Wol, restructured the army command.
