Command Claims Trigger Fresh Accusations
A fresh quarrel inside the South Sudan Patriotic Army erupted this week after agriculture minister Hussein Abdelbagi Akol was accused of recruiting fighters and presenting them to President Salva Kiir as his own troops, despite an earlier dismissal from the movement.
Deputy commander Maj. Gen. Deng Mayar Barjok, loyal to founder Dr Costello Garang, asserted that “Hussein has nothing to do with the SSPM/A and commands no army,” alleging that the minister misled the presidency with lists of civilians rebranded as soldiers.
He said formal letters had removed Abdelbagi from the party months ago, yet the minister continued to use its name while lobbying for the integration of his purported forces into the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces during a presidency meeting last week.
Inside the 2018 Peace Blueprint
Barjok reminded all factions that the 2018 revitalised peace agreement requires registration, screening, and unification of every armed group under international monitoring bodies such as the JMCC, JTSC, and JDB, a process he said is already three-quarters complete.
Any parallel recruitment outside that framework, he warned, contravenes the accord and threatens to unravel fragile security gains achieved since the first batch of unified forces graduated last year under regional oversight.
Opposing Camps Defend Legitimacy
In a swift rebuttal, spokesman Stephen Lual Ngor said Abdelbagi’s wing convened an extraordinary council on 23 November 2024 that passed “decisive and binding resolutions” reaffirming his authority and denouncing what it called impersonation by Costello Garang’s loyalists.
The statement argued that Hussein Abdelbagi, as a signatory to the revitalised deal and former vice president, retains the political mandate to reorganise loyal forces and to request their absorption into national structures.
Security Stakes Ahead of 2026 Vote
South Sudan plans its first national elections in December 2026, a milestone many observers view as contingent on completing security arrangements and avoiding fresh splinter groups that could reignite localised violence.
Regional analyst Nyagoa Tut Pur said in Juba that “unity of command is essential; dual chains of authority invite confusion on polling day,” urging political actors to resolve disputes through established peace-deal mechanisms rather than public recriminations.
For now, the presidency has not publicly endorsed either faction, and observers say Kiir’s final ruling on which forces qualify for integration will set a precedent for other parties still navigating the unification maze.