Former Governor Futuyo appointed to key SPLA-IO military role

YAMBIO — The Acting Chairman and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition (SPLM/SPLA-IO), Oyet Nathaniel Pierino, has announced major appointments within the movement’s top military command, signalling renewed efforts to consolidate the opposition’s ranks amid political uncertainty.

In two separate decrees issued on Wednesday, Oyet appointed Lt. Gen. Alfred Futuyo Karaba as the SPLA-IO Acting Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Lt. Gen. John Both Teny as Acting Deputy Chief of Staff for Administration and Finance.

The appointments — referenced SPLM/SPLA-IO/015/2025 and SPLM/SPLA-IO/014/2025 — were made under Articles 29.1.3 and 28.1 of the SPLM-IO Constitution (2015), in line with the 2016 Khartoum Political Bureau Resolution and the 6th National Conference Resolution of 2020. Gen.

Oyet said the decisions take immediate effect as part of the movement’s broader restructuring and revitalization process.

Futuyo, the former Governor of Western Equatoria State, was dismissed by President Salva Kiir in February 2025 following months of political tension between Juba and Yambio. After his removal, Futuyo reportedly retreated to the bush, where he maintained communication with SPLA-IO field units and loyal forces in the region.

The gubernatorial position was given to James El-Taib Berapai, a member of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Government (SPLM-IG), contrary to Article 1.16.3 of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan, which clearly stipulates that Western Equatoria State falls under SPLM-IO’s share of state-level positions.

The restructuring comes at a time when Dr. Riek Machar Teny, the SPLM/SPLA-IO founding leader and South Sudan’s First Vice President, remains under house arrest and faces legal trial over murder and treason. His limited engagement has left Oyet with expanded authority over both political and military affairs of the opposition.

The appointments of Futuyo and John Both are viewed as part of a wider strategy by Oyet to restructure the opposition military amid unprecedented internal party divisions marred by defections.