March 27, 2020 (Nyamilepedia) — Former SPLA-IO deputy chief of staff Gen. Koang Chuol Ranley who left the main armed opposition group led by First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar to defect to president Salva Kiir last week has met the president at the State House (J1) on Friday.
Last week, Koang and several other senior military opposition figures defected to the Kiir-led South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF).
They criticized Machar’s way of running the movement saying recent nomination of Angelina Teny which culminated in her appointment as the country’s first female defense minister was not carried out with consultation as stated by the SPLM/SPLA (IO) constitution.
They said a ceasefire agreement signed in June 2018 will remain in place as they continue to “commit” themselves to the peace and stability of the country.
In a statement by the South Sudan Presidential Press Unit, Koang said met the president and said he would cooperate with the government in the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.
“The President of the Republic, H.E. Salva Kiir Mayardit, met today, Friday, at the State House in Juba, with splinter leaders from the opposition, SPLM-(IO) led by General James Koang, in the presence of the heads of the country’s security units,” the presidency statement said.
“Gen. James Koang said they will ‘cooperate and work with the government to serve the country in accordance with the Revitalized Peace Agreement,'” the presidency statement quoted Koang as saying.
