A fire gutted the headquarters of South Sudan’s ruling party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), on Saturday afternoon, destroying documents including the party’s constitution, officials said.
The blaze engulfed the offices of the national secretariat, reducing files to ash before firefighters extinguished the flames. Dark smoke billowed over Juba’s government district as emergency crews responded.
SPLM Deputy Secretary for Information Jimmy Atilio told reporters the fire broke out around 12:47 p.m. local time.
“A committee will be formed to investigate the cause,” he said, adding that multiple offices, including the conference hall, were damaged.
Senior party officials, including Secretary-General James Wani Igga and deputy secretaries-general Kuong Danhier Gatluak and Mary Apayi Ayiga, visited the scene.
The cause of the fire remains unclear. No injuries were reported.
A similar blaze damaged the party’s headquarters in February 2012 under then-Secretary-General Pagan Amum.