Security agents have closed the office of Eastern Equatoria State Deputy Governor Mary Alponse Lodira and confiscated her official car from her home for unclear reasons, a senior Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In Opposition (SPLM-IO) official said.
Lodira, who also chairs the state SPLM-IO branch, has been in London for medical treatment since late December and has not yet returned.
The SPLM-IO claims her office was shut after she wrote a letter rejecting Stephen Par Kuol as the party’s interim leader. The move comes amid escalating tensions between President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar, the SPLM-IO leader, who was placed under house arrest in Juba on March 26.
On April 9, a group of senior SPLM-IO members endorsed Kuol, the country’s peacebuilding minister, as interim leader until Machar’s release. However, many top officials still loyal to Machar boycotted the meeting.
Kiir and Machar signed a 2018 peace deal that formed a transitional unity government in 2020, but implementation has stalled amid political disputes, culminating in Machar’s detention last month.
Lodira’s office was previously relocated to the state education ministry after a fire damaged the state secretariat. It was later moved back following renovations before being closed.
Visor Likale Olum, SPLM-IO youth league chairperson and a member of Eastern Equatoria’s transitional legislative assembly, told Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday that the deputy governor’s office was abruptly shut and her car seized.
“Yes, we are okay except with the recent closure of the deputy governor’s office, which is very unfortunate,” Olum said. “Initially, Western Equatoria’s leadership promised not to get involved in Juba’s problems, but surprisingly, the chairperson’s office was closed.”
Likale accused defectors from the SPLM-IO of exploiting the situation, adding: “The state chairperson made it clear she remains with the party’s mainstream despite the leader’s detention. Closing her office leaves us without guidance—this is unfriendly.”
When asked how the SPLM-IO can function under these conditions, Olum called the move “an intimidation tactic” and urged state leaders to uphold their pledge to maintain peace.
“People cannot be dictated to—South Sudan will remain, but individuals will come and go,” he said. “We will not be forced to accept what we don’t want. We stand with Dr. Riek Machar and acting chairperson Oyet Nathaniel until this is resolved.”
Eastern Equatoria Governor Louis Lobong Lojore and State Information Minister Elia John Ahaji declined to comment. The state governor is a senior member of the SPLM Party led by President Kiir.
Civil society activist Wodcan Lazarus Saviour, from the Support Peace Initiative Development Organization (SPIDO), said the closure violates the 2018 peace agreement.
“This is not in the spirit of the 2018 peace deal, which is now in jeopardy,” he said. “Instead of implementing key chapters, leaders are distracted by party disputes that don’t benefit South Sudanese.”
He urged Eastern Equatoria citizens to avoid violence and focus on survival amid economic hardships.
“The country belongs to us all. Leaders must account to the people, not the other way around,” he said.