A section of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) Party State Liberation Council in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State has locked the party’s state secretariat, demanding the immediate removal of State Secretary-General Kharbino Thiep Tong.
The group led by James Jok Lual accused Thiep of occupying the state secretary-general position despite allegedly not being a member of the State Liberation Council.
Jok told Radio Tamazuj on Monday that the appointment violated the SPLM constitution, which he said requires the state secretary to be appointed from among members of the State Liberation Council.
The protesters reportedly closed the party office and declared that Thiep should no longer operate as state secretary-general.
Jok also accused the state leadership of nepotism in the appointment and called for Thiep to be returned to the County Liberation Council in Aweil East, where he previously served.
“We say this current secretary should be removed and taken back to where SPLM mandated him to be a member of the County Liberation Council in Aweil East County,” Jok said. “We have written several letters, but our call is not being answered. We are telling SPLM national leadership that the party is not for an individual. SPLM should remain as the people’s party and the party operate according to the level that it has been organized.”
Security forces later arrested the protesters after tensions escalated, although they were subsequently released, according to Mangar Mou, the SPLM state secretariat’s Secretary for Information.
Mou confirmed that seven State Liberation Council members had stormed the party office, saying they objected to Thiep’s continued appointment because they believed he was not a member of the state-level council.
He described the dispute as an internal administrative matter and said it should be resolved through the party’s established structures. Mou added that State Liberation Council members have the right to request a meeting, but such requests should be channeled through the state chairperson rather than the national secretariat.
“These are administrative issues; everything will be addressed administratively. They are right to request a meeting as state liberation council members, and the request should go through the chairperson of the state, not a request from the national secretariat,” Mou explained.
The confrontation has exposed internal disagreements within the SPLM in Northern Bahr el Ghazal over leadership appointments, party structures and adherence to the movement’s constitution.
Efforts to reach the embattled SPLM State Secretary-General Kharbinp Thiep Tong were unsuccessful as several calls went unanswered.
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