The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In-Opposition (SPLM-IO) under the leadership of South Sudan’s First Vice President Taban Deng Gai has accused the former detainees group of not responding positively to efforts to reunify the party.

The ruling party fractured in December 2013, leading to the ongoing civil war that has killed thousands and forced millions to seek refugees in neighbouring countries.

SPLM-IO Secretary General Dhieu Mathok told Radio Tamazuj today that two members of the SPLM-FDs faction who are part of the working group for reunification matrix failed to show up for a meeting in Juba alongside members representing the other SPLM factions last week to lay out final steps toward reunification of the fragmented party.

“They were supposed to come to Juba. Kosti and Majak were supposed to come to Juba for the meeting because seven members of the committee, including a member of the former detainees are here in Juba,” he said.

“The committee met in Juba and worked on the document and the document was sent to those of Majak and Kosti for review but they refused. So we don’t know the problem. They were supposed to join John Luk here in Juba,” he added.

Three factions of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) last month formed a working group to develop a matrix for the implementation of the Arusha Agreement with specific timelines and report to Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni.

Members of the working group include Simon Kun Puoch, Rebecca Joshua Okwaci and Oliver Moris Benjamin from SPLM-IG, John Luk Jok, Kosti Manibe and Majak D’Agoot from SPLM-FDs, Richard K. Mulla, Tijwog H. Agwet and Lubna Abdelgani from SPLM-IO.

Last week, the former detainees’ spokesman Kosti Manibe Ngai, said the reunification meeting did not take place because the two teams from Juba failed to show up in Uganda.