The National Democratic Movement (NDM) denied reports that its leader Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin travelled to Khartoum with the intention to pull out of the September 2018 peace deal.
Some reports circulated on social media said that Lam Akol left Juba to neighboring Sudan and has no plan to come back to Juba.
Mahjoub Biel Turuk, the Secretary-General of the National Democratic Movement, told Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday that Akol travelled to Sudan’s capital, Khartoum for family reasons and would soon return to Juba.
“There is no reason why the head of the movement should leave the country,” he said.
Biel described those circulating reports on social media about the party leader as “enemies” of peace, reiterating NDM’s full commitment to implement the revitalized peace agreement.
Biel pointed to the presence of the entire leadership of the party in Juba, saying that "we know that those who promote these rumors are enemies of peace and the National Democratic Movement."
He urged citizens to support peace and stability in the country.
NDM is part of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), but until now the party has not been represented in the current government positions as part of the power-sharing deal.
Akol has repeatedly accused the government led by President Salva Kiir of controlling some groups within SSOA.
"There is a group within the alliance that has handed over itself to the government and the government led by President Salva Kiir has been guiding it with its decisions,” Akol told Radio Tamazuj last month.