Machar was severely criticized in a three-day meeting, and the SPLA-IO military faction declared that he ‘completely failed’ to show leadership.

Party leaders accused Machar of no longer representing their interests, after being a key figure on the path to South Sudan’s independence – achieved in 2011 – and the subsequent war (2013-2018).

Machar’s chief of staff, First Lieutenant General Simon Gatwech Dual, was placed on an interim basis at the head of the opposition organization, which governs the country, together with Salva Kiir Mayardit’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).

The Machar-Kiir alliance is considered an unstable compromise between former enemies.

For the influential military wing of the party, the first vice president greatly weakened the organization’s position in the coalition government that followed the war in early 2020 and claimed that Riek Machar engaged in a ‘divide and rule policy.’

For years he favored nepotism over unity or the advancement of his cause, according to a statement on August 3rd signed by the military leadership.

In the meeting it was specified ‘that there was no other option but to make the decision and finally declare (the departure) of Dr. Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon from the presidency of the SPLA-IO’, which provoked a furious reaction among those belonging to the political wing of the party loyal to the deposed leader, who called an emergency meeting to address the matter and said they still consider Machar the leader of the party.

pgh/llp/jcm/mt