(INTERNAL MEMO) - The SPLM/A-IO Belongs To The People, Not To Brokers

Riek Machar, speaks during a news statement with South Sudan's President Salva Kiir Mayardit (L) after their meeting in which they have reached a deal to form a long-delayed unity government in Juba, South Sudan December 17, 2019 (Photo Credit: REUTERS/Jok Solomun/File Photo)

Fellow Revolutionary Leaders and Cadres of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-In Opposition (SPLM/A-IO). In the spirit of the Revolution, and in the name of the Movement and the interests of the national cause, my salutations to you all.

Comrade Leaders and Comrade Cadres, let me state this clearly: we are not a commodity to be traded. The SPLM/A-IO is not the inheritance of a clique or a family. It is not the entitlement of any tribe. It is the birthright of the South Sudanese people, above all of those who endure daily brutality and bleed under the SPLM regime.

Write this permanently in your minds; this Movement was not negotiated into existence. It was consecrated in blood, baptized in sacrifice, and delivered through the lives of martyrs whose bones now form the pillars of our cause.

That covenant cannot be sold. That foundation cannot be bargained. That blood cannot be betrayed.

Comrade Leaders and Comrade Cadres, you know this regime well. Its plans are not new to us. Since the inception of this revolution:

When it failed to defeat us militarily between 2014 and 2015, it turned to deception. It used “peace” as a trap to lure us to Juba for “implementation,” intending to disarm and destroy us.

In 2016, it attacked us in Juba believing it could finish us. It failed. We survived and emerged victorious.

It then conspired with the region to sideline our leader, Dr. Riek Machar, through confinement in South Africa. We stood firm. It failed. Our leader was released.

In 2018, it lured us with the so-called R-ARCSS to Juba to disorganize and destroy us. It failed. We became stronger and a greater threat to their rule.

In 2025, it tried to criminalize our leaders, especially Dr. Riek Machar, through the legal system, and attempted to impose Hon. Stephen Par on us. We resisted. It failed. We still exist, with Dr. Riek Machar as our legitimate leader and First Vice President, even while in detention.

When the regime realized it could not kill this revolution on the battlefield, it turned to infiltration. It resolved to corrupt some senior leaders and cadres who were once close to Dr. Riek Machar, to cause confusion, manipulate our ranks, and weaken us from within.

Comrade Leaders and Comrade Cadres, based on intelligence, I state clearly: the regime has recruited apostates to corrode the ranks of the SPLM/A-IO, fuel disrespect and mutiny, and sabotage our systems from within. It has planted agents among us to spread confusion, fracture our ranks, and sever our spine.

We must note with pain that we have been infiltrated by the regime. Some senior leaders and cadres no longer serve the revolution. They serve the regime. Their intent is clear: _"hijack the leadership, lure us to Juba in the name of “implementing the peace agreement,” and sideline Dr. Riek Machar."_

The enemy is not only at the gate. The enemy is within. Not as strangers, but as comrades. Not with guns, but with whispers.

These apostates have now waged war through propaganda, baseless accusations, and blame. Their lies are creating conflict, breeding mistrust, and weakening the revolution at its core.

Intelligence confirms that some of these apostates have approached our political leaders abroad, urging them to stop the war and return to Juba for “dialogue” and “implementation of the Peace Agreement.”

Their hidden agenda is to complete the regime’s leadership replacement project: install a regime-anointed successor to Dr. Riek Machar, a pliant instrument through which Juba will dictate our surrender.

These apostates have even reached some field commanders and political leaders, preaching paralysis. Arguing them not to strike the enemy, not to fight the government, not to advance on Juba, lest their endanger Chairman Dr. Riek Machar in detention.

Most unfortunate, their blind disciples within our ranks, corrupted by the spirits of tribalism, nepotism, and selfish ambition, have swallowed the regime’s propaganda. They are now spreading baseless accusations, hurl blame without evidence, and sowing division among us. They publicly, without shame, displaying disrespect and a spirit of non-cooperation in our ranks, and this has affected our command and control.

Fellow Comrade Leaders and Comrade Cadres, know this: whatever crisis we are encountering in our ranks now is not accidental. It is deliberate sabotage of our internal systems, designed to destroy the revolution, betray the cause, and fracture our unity.

Hence, I am alerting you that we are at our most vulnerable. Not because the enemy has defeated us, but because we are being weakened from within by our own. We are not outgunned by the regime, but outmanoeuvred by our own who have become brokers for the regime. We are not broken by war, but betrayed by the ambitions of some comrades.

They speak to us of peace while forging our chains. They speak to us of unity while engineering our fracture. They speak to us of our detained leader’s (Dr. Riek Machar) safety while plotting his extinction. They are the devil within us. They are the cause of our weakness and continued suffering in the bush today.

Their design is singular and sinister: _"hijack the leadership, sideline Dr. Riek Machar, silence the revolutionaries, and surrender the Movement to the very tyranny it was born to overthrow."_ This is their evil plan. However, it will not succeed, because we stand on a just and rightful cause.

Therefore, Comrade Leaders and Cadres, hear this and remember:
- Do not be demobilized from the cause.
- Do not be divided by selfish interests.
- Do not be deceived by tribalism or false peace.
- And to those who do not know the full truth of this internal crisis we are experiencing: do not take sides blindly. Apostates are active among us.

I urge all of us to stand with this just and rightful cause. Not with individuals whose agenda opposes ours, who exploit every moment for personal gain. Let us stand with those who suffer and die for the nation. Let us stand with the cause itself, and nothing else.

The brokers, the traitors, and the auctioneers of liberation, we must reject them. The SPLM/A-IO was not built to kneel. Not built to beg. Not built to barter. It was built to liberate, to redeem, and to crush the regime.

Comrade Leaders and Cadres, as I have stated, the problems we face as a revolution are intelligence problems and must be handled with utmost care through proper intelligence channels. I therefore caution us to refrain from unnecessary utterances, destructive conducts, and attitudes that will cause further damage to the Movement.

The revolution belongs to all of us. Let us reclaim it, defend it, and complete it.

I conclude by humbly imploring Comrade Acting Chair and Commander-in-Chief, Honourable Nathaniel Oyet, to act without delay:

1. Issue an Internal Memo/Circular on the Status Quo of the Movement, with particular focus on this internal crisis and the leadership.

2. Establish a Joint Independent Committee composed of highly experienced, influential, and independent cadres within weeks, with the mandate to:
a. Investigate the root causes of this crisis and recommend urgent solutions;
b. Engage concerned cadres in direct dialogue and reconciliation;
c. Recommend disciplinary measures against those guilty of sabotage and betrayal;
d. Operate as an Independent Complaints Desk for all cadres to submit grievances without fear.

Comrade Acting Chair and Commander-in-Chief, be mindful that any further delay may mean surrender. Act now on the above recommendations, before the apostates and their blind disciples finish what the regime could not since the inception of this revolution.

*Major General John Sunday Martin*
WhatsApp: +211 926 927 268 / +256 791 938 465