South Sudan’s opposition SPLM-IO said on Friday it had received intelligence from what it described as a credible source indicating an alleged plot to assassinate detained opposition leader and First Vice President Riek Machar, though it provided no evidence to support the claim.
The allegation was contained in an urgent press release issued by the party and signed by Oyet Nathaniel, the SPLM-IO’s acting chairman, who accused individuals within the country’s leadership of conspiring against Machar while President Salva Kiir was away from the capital, Juba.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Friday, Oyet declined to identify the source of the information.
“You want my source? I will not tell you my source,” he said. “It’s a credible source. Reliable source.”
Asked whether the allegation could be viewed as propaganda given previous warnings issued by the movement, Oyet said the party did not issue such statements lightly.
“The fact that the statements are coming, not every month, but they are coming in their own time period, it means we are not playing with the statements, or we are not playing with words,” he said.
Oyet said the information had come from a source in Juba but declined to provide further details.
The SPLM-IO alleged that the purported plot would be carried out during Kiir’s absence from Juba while visiting the Bahr el Ghazal region. The party said Kiir and his associates would be responsible for any incident affecting Machar’s safety.
Oyet argued that Kiir bore ultimate responsibility for Machar’s welfare because the first vice president remains in government custody.
“He has full responsibility for the welfare and the safety of the first vice president Dr. Riek Machar,” Oyet said. “Whatever happens within that compound is squarely the responsibility of President Salva Kiir.”
The top opposition official said he had no direct communication with Machar and had only seen him during court appearances.
“We see him like everybody else seeing him in the court, when he is brought to the court,” he said.
Asked about Machar’s health, Oyet said he could not provide a definitive assessment but claimed Machar had not been allowed access to his personal doctor since 2020.
“We have not heard from him directly, so we cannot conclude whether he is well or not,” he said.
Oyet, a former first deputy speaker of parliament, renewed calls for Machar’s release and urged regional and international actors, including IGAD, the African Union, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), the United Nations, the Troika countries and the European Union, to intervene to ensure his safety and that of other political detainees.
Attempts by Radio Tamazuj to obtain comment from government officials on the allegations were unsuccessful.
Kiir left Juba on Friday for Wau in Western Bahr el Ghazal State before travelling to his home village of Akon in Warrap State, where he is expected to spend several days on a private visit.
Machar, Kiir’s longtime rival and a key signatory to the 2018 peace agreement, was placed under house arrest in Juba in March 2025 amid escalating tensions between the government and the SPLM-IO.
He was later suspended as first vice president and is currently facing treason charges before a special court over his alleged role in violence that erupted in Nasir County, Upper Nile State, in March 2025. Machar and seven co-accused members of the SPLM-IO deny the charges.
South Sudan has experienced rising political tensions and insecurity as implementation of the 2018 peace agreement has stalled, raising concerns among regional and international observers about the future of the fragile peace deal.
The SPLM-IO has been led on an acting basis by Oyet since Machar’s detention. Oyet, who lives outside the country, heads a faction of the movement widely seen as aligned with Machar, while another group led by Peacebuilding Minister Stephen Par Kuol has remained in Juba and continues to participate in the transitional government, exposing divisions within the main opposition party.
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