Ex-SPLA-IO commander General Ochan Puot being isolated in Juba

JUBA – The head of the defunct Provisional Military and Political Council (PMPC), Major-General James Ochan Puot, risks being isolated by top government officials due to his leadership styles, according to a highly placed source interviewed this morning.

Major-General Ochan, who switched allegiance to the Kiir administration in September last year, has been facing stiff opposition from members of his group in Juba.

“He’s now being isolated by anyone because of his leadership styles. This man is hard-headed, who doesn’t take advice from anyone,” said a senior government official in Juba.

“He is not cooperating with his own people, nor with other government officials,” the source added.

Ochan recently appeared in a report released by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan as a government-allied commander responsible for disrupting farming activities along the Sobat River.

“Tensions between SPLM/A-IO and the forces of Major General James Ochan were reignited in Maiwut on 25 October, when the groups engaged in an exchange of fire,” the United Nations Mission said in its report to the Secretary-General.