A Party Consumed by Fear Cannot Lead a Nation in Pain

A Party Consumed by Fear Cannot Lead a Nation in Pain

The South Sudan Federal Democratic Alliance (SSFDA) has watched with deep interest—and growing certainty—the unraveling now playing out within the highest ranks of the SPLM-IG. The public clash between Gen. Aleu Ayieny Aleu and Ateny Wek Ateny, once both close to the inner throne, is more than just a verbal quarrel. It is the sound of a regime devouring itself.

What we are witnessing is not disagreement. It is panic. Panic that the myth of unity is collapsing. Panic that the people see through the hollow slogans. Panic that succession is no longer a question of if, but when, and that the regime has no plan, no legitimacy, and no trust left to manage it.

When former governors accuse presidential advisors of plotting to inherit power, and those same advisors lash back to disown the claim—what are they telling us?

They are telling us: the house is burning, and every man is grabbing for the exits.

A Leadership That Fears Its Own Shadow

If Dr. Benjamin Bol Mel truly has no presidential ambitions, then why are SPLM-IG officials so desperate to deny it?

And if he does have them, why is he not allowed to speak?

Because in Kiir’s circle, loyalty means silence, and ambition is a death sentence.

Let us be clear: this is not about Bol Mel. It is about a leadership so brittle, so consumed by suspicion, that it cannot tolerate even the idea that someone else might one day lead.

The people are not blind. They can see that even the President’s most loyal allies now whisper behind closed doors—not about policy, not about peace—but about how to survive the coming collapse.

The Red Army Betrayed Again

Ateny Wek Ateny made one point worth saving: the Red Army generation deserves more.

Indeed they do. But the true betrayal is not Aleu's remark.

It is the SPLM-IG’s decades-long exploitation and abandonment of the Red Army's legacy:

• Where are the hospitals for the wounded?

• Where are the schools for their children?

• Where is the justice for those who were used as soldiers and discarded like tools?

  
  

Today, the Red Army is invoked when convenient, paraded like trophies—yet excluded from power, silenced in Parliament, and used to fight wars for men they will never succeed.

SSFDA says: No more. We honor the Red Army not with speeches, but with inclusion. And many of them are already with us.

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The Walls Are Cracking

We say this clearly and without apology: SSFDA is growing.

And the regime knows it.

We are aware—fully aware—of the senior SSPDF generals, including from Warrap, from Bor, from Gogrial—who now meet with us silently, offering insight, strategy, and readiness.

We are also aware of the young technocrats in Juba—advisors, directors, economists—who say nothing publicly but are preparing to step away from a government they no longer believe in.

And yes, we know that even within the SPLM-IG itself, there are those now deeply uncomfortable with what Kiir has allowed to take shape: a regime without a future, without coherence, without truth.

To those still inside: You know the end is near. You see the fear in every closed-door meeting. You hear the lies collapse under their own weight. You are not alone. And you have a choice.

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What Comes Next?

SPLM-IG cannot reform itself. It has become a machine of distrust, paralysis, and tribal manipulation.

It has no transition plan—only gatekeepers panicking about who will take the keys.

SSFDA is building the alternative. Not a cult. Not a gang. A federal, civilian, inclusive movement, already accepted in ten states and embraced by every tribe that is tired of being used.

South Sudan will not be inherited by another insider.

It will be liberated from within.

The cracks are widening. The silence is breaking. And soon, so will the illusion.

Signed,

South Sudan Federal Democratic Alliance (SSFDA)