SPLA-IO officer refutes rumors that group is detaining senior military member

JUBA – A senior military officer of South Sudan’s main armed opposition group, SPLM/SPLA (IO), has denied that a senior opposition commander has been arrested on orders of the group’s leader and commander in chief Dr. Riek Machar Teny.

This comes after reports circulated on social media that Machar who is also the country’s First Vice President ordered the “immediate” arrest and detention of SPLA-IO’s Brigadier General Lo Mukaya over a 2019 disappearance of two senior opposition military officers.

Speaking to Sudans Post on Wednesday, a senior opposition officer said on condition of anonymity that the reports are not true and that General Lemi Lo Mukaya who was on leave to Uganda since last year following an internal disagreement with the group’s commander of Division 2B returned to the country following a call by the SPLA-IO command for him to return to service.

“No, Brigadier Lemi Lo Mukaya is not arrested.. He has some problems with his former boss, Major General Moses Lokujuo, who was Division 2B commander [and] so he (Lemi) left service last year, and has been in Uganda,” the opposition officer who refused not to be named said.

“However, after Major General Moses was called to Juba by the Leadership to answer matters related to the disappearance of the IO senior officers (Sam Logeleng and Clement), the leadership engaged Lemi to come back to the service where as he came back this week and was highly received,” he added.

He further accused those circulating the alleged arrest of spreading lies and unfounded news.

“Those claiming his arrest are enemies of truth,” he said.