Pagan Amum, the founder of the former detainees, has said that he relinquished his role as leader of the group, giving up the position he has held since 2014.

Amum’s decision comes after months of squabbling in the non-armed opposition faction. The SPLM fractured into different factions after the civil war erupted in December 2013.

Amum, who formerly served as the ruling SPLM party’s secretary general, told Radio Tamazuj on Thursday that he is not part of the former political detainees who returned to Juba as part of the peace deal.

The former detainees are a group of high level SPLM officials who were arrested after the outbreak of war in December 2013 and accused of trying to overthrow President Salva Kiir. They were later released due to lack of evidence and fled to Kenya. The former detainees, who do not command any troops, had been involved in the revitalized peace deal.

 “I was the leader of the former political detainees according to my seniority in the SPLM, so we did not sit down to hold elections. The group decided to return to Juba to reunify the party with Salva Kiir,” he explained.

The ongoing effort to reunify the historical party is doomed to fail, according to Amum.

“The group that returned to Juba will just be absorbed and will not talk about reforms,” he said.

The outspoken opposition politician says reunification of the ruling party was not possible under President Salva Kiir. “He [Kiir] wants to reunify the party without a clear vision. He also wants to make peace without reforms and strong systems that can deliver services to citizens,” he said.

“I am not part of the reunification process and I will never accept to reunite with Salva Kiir,” he stressed.

Pagan, who is currently living in the United States, has turned down a recent invitation from President Salva Kiir to return to Juba to move forward talks to reunify fragmented factions of the party. He is supposed to return as secretary general of the ruling party under the reunification deal.

“I don’t want to be part of the government and the reunification of the SPLM party. I don’t have personal problems with Salva Kiir, but the only problem is the vision we fought for,” he said.

Amum has expressed his doubts that the September peace deal would lead to a smooth transition. “There will be no programs to transform the country,” he said.

The former party official blamed President Kiir for the conflict.

Kiir and opposition leaders failed to establish a transitional government as stipulated in the peace deal by May 12. The formation of the unity government was extended by six months to November.