JUBA — South Sudan’s main opposition group, Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO), has called on the international community to provide immediate protection to its leader, suspended first vice president Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon, following what it described as an active assassination plot against him.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Puok Both Baluang, acting press secretary in the office of the suspended first vice president, said they possess what they described as “full, verified details” of threats targeting Machar, his co-accused, and their legal defense team.
“We wish to categorically inform our members, concerned citizens, agreement stakeholders, guarantors, and the general public that we possess full, verified details regarding the active assassination plot targeting our leader, the country’s First Vice President H.E. Dr. Riek Machar, our co-accused comrades, and their legal defense team,” Baluang said in a statement issued on Sunday.
Baluang, who doubles as SPLM-IO director of information and public relations, accused the government of attempting to undermine the trial process and called on international actors to take immediate measures to safeguard Machar, the co-accused, and other SPLM/A-IO members in detention.
“We urgently renew our call upon IGAD, the African Union (AU), the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), the Troika, the European Union (EU), and the broader international community to take immediate, proactive measures to ensure the absolute protection of H.E. Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon and all SPLM/A-IO detainees,” he said.
He rejected remarks by government spokesperson Ateny Wek Ateny, who reportedly dismissed the alleged assassination plot as unfounded and false.
“In a reckless and transparent attempt to deflect accountability, Ateny sought to downplay documented details of an active plot to assassinate H.E. Dr. Riek Machar, the movement’s co-accused members, and their defense counsel,” he said.
“This plot is intended to be executed during the ongoing politically motivated trial targeting him and seven other leaders and members of the movement. Furthermore, the regime’s mouthpiece shamelessly accused the SPLM/A-IO of attempting to discredit the ongoing sham trial—a political prosecution specifically engineered to settle political scores and abrogate the Revitalized Peace Agreement.”
He explained that the defense team formally raised the security concerns before the court during its 114th session on September 7, through an urgent application requesting protection measures and an independent investigation.
He said the special court directed the defense to postpone presentation of the application until the next session because of an incomplete panel of judges.
He further alleged that during the 115th session on September 11, the court prevented the defense from reading the application publicly and instead instructed that copies be submitted to the judges and prosecution.
Baluang said the court cited national security considerations and concerns that public disclosure could interfere with an investigation into the alleged threats.
Machar and several co-accused face allegations related to the March 2025 violence in Nasir, Upper Nile State. Machar and his co-accused have denied the allegations against them.
The trial, which has drawn significant national attention due to the high-profile nature of the accused, is being presided over by Judge James Alala Deng, alongside Justices Stephen Simon and Isaac Pur Majok.
