South Sudan’s political tensions have taken a fresh turn after the Former Political Detainees (FDs) publicly rejected Vice President Rebecca Nyandeng’s criticism of President Salva Kiir Mayardit and declared their support for Kiir to lead the ruling SPLM into the planned December 2026 elections.
The FDs’ position, announced in Juba on Monday, comes after Nyandeng questioned who was advising and “watching over” Kiir during a requiem Mass for veteran politician Kosti Manibe last month, remarks that have since triggered a political response from within the SPLM’s wider leadership circle.
Isaiah Hakim Garang, the FDs’ parliamentary whip and representative on the committee overseeing implementation of the 2018 peace agreement, said the group was distancing itself from Nyandeng’s remarks and rejected any calls that could encourage citizens to confront the government.
“We came out as former political detainees to condemn the statement made by Mama Rebecca Nyandeng during the funeral prayers of late Honorable Kosti Manibe,” Garang told reporters in Juba.
Garang said political leaders have a right to express their views but cautioned against statements that could encourage violence or confrontation with the government.
The group also used the announcement to make its electoral position unmistakable, saying it will support Kiir as the SPLM’s presidential flag bearer in the planned December 2026 election.
“As former political detainees, our position is very clear. We are standing with our president Salva Kiir Mayardit and flag bearer of the SPLM,” Garang said.
The declaration puts the FDs firmly behind Kiir at a politically sensitive moment, as South Sudan approaches elections that have repeatedly been delayed since independence.
The FDs were among the parties that signed the 2018 peace agreement, which created the current power-sharing government after years of civil war. The group later reunited with the SPLM under an agreement aimed at bringing together the party’s different factions.
Garang said the FDs’ return to the SPLM meant they remained committed to its leadership.
“The doctrine of our party, SPLM, cannot allow us to attack our chairman of the SPLM, or to say things against our party,” he said.
Nyandeng, one of the country’s five vice presidents and widow of late SPLM leader Dr. John Garang, questioned Kiir’s current political environment during Manibe’s requiem Mass at All Saints Cathedral in Juba.
“When Dr. John Garang was there, those of Deng Alor, Elijah Malok, those of Kosti Manibe, all those people were there, watching. Who’s watching over President Salva Kiir now?” she said.
She also said she could sometimes go for up to two years without meeting Kiir and urged young South Sudanese to speak out against wrongdoing.
The presidency has defended Kiir’s role in the liberation struggle, describing it as a collective undertaking.
Garang urged young South Sudanese to reject political violence and support implementation of the peace agreement.
“Don’t listen to the leaders who are encouraging you to go out or to take arms. We are here to implement the peace agreement,” he said.
The FDs also distanced themselves from any controversy surrounding Manibe’s funeral, saying they were not responsible for what occurred.
“Whatever happened, we are not part of it,” Garang said.
The exchange comes as South Sudan’s political actors position themselves ahead of the planned December 2026 elections, with questions over leadership, party unity and implementation of the 2018 peace agreement remaining central to the country’s political debate.
