The recent appeal by Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang (PSC), spokesperson of the Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF), for military officers affiliated with First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar to return to work is either a calculated deception or a gross misreading of reality. In a statement reported by Radio Tamazuj on March 9, 2025, Gen. Koang expressed concern that officers formerly aligned with the opposition had “gone into hiding” after the crisis in Nasir. His assurance that the conflict does not concern them and his plea for their return are, at best, hollow reassurances that fail to acknowledge the deeper crisis at play.
The Reality of Fear and Self-Preservation
The officers’ decision to go into hiding is neither surprising nor unwarranted—it is a logical response to a deteriorating security environment. Their withdrawal follows the recent arrests of key SPLM-IO military and political figures, including Gen. Gabriel Duop Lam, Co-Chair of the Joint Defence Board and Deputy Chief of the SSPDF, as well as senior government officials Hon. Puot Kang, Minister of Petroleum, and Hon. Stephen Par Kuol, Minister of Peacebuilding. These detentions, coupled with the heavy security deployment around Dr. Machar’s residence, signal a deliberate targeting of SPLM-IO figures, eroding any semblance of trust in the government’s security apparatus.
The National Security Service (NSS) has openly confirmed plans for further arrests, reinforcing the perception that political and military purges are underway. In such an environment, it is entirely rational for officers to evade potential detention. Gen. Koang’s claim that their absence was a “discovery” at SSPDF headquarters is disingenuous; it was a predictable reaction to a security clampdown that disproportionately affects one faction in the country’s unity government.
South Sudan’s Culture of Guilt Before Innocence
To understand why these officers are unlikely to heed Gen. Koang’s call, one must consider South Sudan’s systemic dysfunction. The distinction between political, military, and judicial institutions remains largely theoretical—arrests are political tools, and detention often precedes any formal charge. The case of Gov. Kuel Aguer Kuel, who endured seventeen months of imprisonment before being acquitted, illustrates how due process is subservient to political interests. In such an environment, the assumption of guilt upon arrest prevails, making self-preservation a necessity.
It is therefore naïve to expect officers who have seen their superiors detained under murky circumstances to simply return to work under the assurances of the same institution that facilitated those arrests. The precedent suggests that compliance may not guarantee safety; instead, it may expose them to the same fate as their detained colleagues.
What Would It Take for Officers to Return to Work?
The reality that Gen. Koang ignores is that no officer in hiding will return to duty without concrete guarantees of safety. A more effective approach would require, at minimum, the release of detained leaders, credible assurances against further arrests, and confidence-building measures from SPLM-IO leadership itself. Without these, Gen. Koang’s appeal will fall on deaf ears, dismissed as yet another rhetorical maneuver in a political landscape where survival takes precedence over duty.
Conclusion
South Sudan’s security sector remains deeply fractured along political lines, with trust in state institutions at an all-time low. In this context, appeals like Gen. Koang’s are unlikely to be taken seriously. Unless the government takes meaningful steps to separate military operations from political repression, officers in hiding will have every reason to remain out of sight—and out of reach of the very forces that claim to protect them.
The writer, Rajab Mohandis, is a civil rights activist and member of the People’s Coalition for Civil Action. He can be reached at rmohandis4@gmail.com.
The views expressed in ‘opinion’ articles published by Radio Tamazuj are solely those of the writer. The veracity of any claims made is the responsibility of the author, not Radio Tamazuj.