In a strongly worded 17-page declaration released on Tuesday, Nhial accused President Salva Kiir’s administration of “betraying the founding ideals of the SPLM” and turning South Sudan into a “state on the brink of collapse.”
“The SPLM is comatose, and our state is on the brink of collapse,” Nhial wrote. “Action must be taken to revive and restore the SPLM to its original trajectory from which it has veered off.”
Nhial, who served as foreign and presidential affairs minister and was a chief negotiator in past peace talks, announced the formation of the South Sudan Salvation Movement (SSSM). He described it as a “temporary vehicle” under the United People’s Alliance (UPA) to press for reforms within the SPLM and to “wrest control of the movement out of the hands of those who have hijacked and held it captive for so long.”
The 73-year-old politician accused the SPLM-led government of presiding over economic collapse, corruption in oil revenues, and rampant insecurity, saying “the Juba regime remains content with helping itself to whatever public resources it gets its hands on.”
Nhial called on citizens, security forces, and organized groups to rise up peacefully to demand political change.
“I call for an uprising of the masses of our people so that we can accelerate the process of reorienting our country in the direction of the state we have long aspired to: a multinational state of peace, justice, and prosperity for all,” he said.
“Patriotic elements within the SSPDF and other organized forces should not quell any popular protest action if ordered to do so, but rather act to protect it.”
He accused Kiir’s government of ruling “in a purely dictatorial fashion,” failing to implement the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), and repeatedly extending the transitional period “to avoid elections at any cost.”
Nhial called for the immediate opening of civic space, the drafting of a permanent constitution, and free and fair elections before the end of 2026 as “indispensable prerequisites to avert state collapse.”
Nhial’s move marks one of the most significant defections from the SPLM in recent years. A key figure in the liberation struggle and a close ally of the late Dr. John Garang, Nhial said the SPLM lost direction after Garang’s death in 2005, accusing Kiir of abandoning the founding vision.
He said he had “clung to the hope” that Kiir would reform the movement but now believes “the dream of saving the SPLM under the incumbent leadership will never be fulfilled.”
Mr. Nhial urged neighbouring countries to respect South Sudan’s sovereignty and allow its citizens to “chart their own political destiny without undue interference.”
The declaration comes amid growing political uncertainty ahead of planned elections in 2026, with opposition groups accusing the government of delaying reforms and tightening restrictions on dissent.
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