A senior commander in the South Sudan Patriotic Army (SSPA) has accused Agriculture Minister and former Vice President Hussein Abdelbagi Akol of unlawfully recruiting fighters and falsely claiming authority over armed forces amid an ongoing leadership dispute within the movement.

Maj. Gen. Deng Mayar Barjok, deputy commander of the SSPA faction led by Dr. Costello Garang, told Radio Tamazuj on Monday that Abdelbagi no longer holds any position within the SSPM/A and was formally removed from the party earlier this year. He alleged that Abdelbagi misled the presidency by presenting individuals as SSPA forces under his command.

“Hussein has no authority over the SSPM/A and does not command any army,” Deng said, saying an official dismissal letter had already been issued. “Despite this, he continues to use the name of the movement and portray himself as its leader.”

The accusations follow Abdelbagi’s submission of documents last week to President Salva Kiir, seeking the integration of what he described as his forces into the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF). The submission was made in the presence of Presidential Adviser on National Security Affairs Tut Gatluak Manime.

Abdelbagi’s action was widely interpreted as a move to relinquish his role as overall commander of forces aligned with a faction of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), although leadership over those forces remains disputed.

The SSPM/A was founded by presidential adviser Dr. Costello Garang, but internal divisions deepened after Abdelbagi’s appointment as vice president in 2020 under the 2018 revitalised peace agreement. Since then, both leaders have claimed legitimacy and announced the dismissal of the other.

SSPA forces on the ground are commanded by Agany Abdelbagi Akol, the elder brother of Hussein Abdelbagi.

Deng said the SSPA joined the 2018 peace process under the SSOA framework and complied with security arrangements, including registration, screening, training, and unification under international monitoring bodies. He said most of the process had been completed, with many unified forces already deployed, although some mid-level command positions remain unresolved.

He warned that any recruitment outside the peace agreement violates its provisions and risks undermining national security.

“The army belongs to the state, not to individual politicians,” Deng said. “There must be one national army under the authority of the president.”

In response, Stephen Lual Ngor, spokesperson for the SSPM faction aligned with Abdelbagi, rejected the accusations, insisting their leadership remains legitimate.

In a statement, Ngor said the movement’s National Leadership Council held an extraordinary meeting on November 23, 2024, during which it adopted binding resolutions in accordance with the SSPM Constitution of 2022. The statement accused the former chairperson of deception and of recruiting individuals and groups with no official ties to the movement.

Under the peace agreement that ended South Sudan’s five-year civil war, all armed groups were to be unified into a single national army. However, the process has faced repeated delays due to funding gaps, logistical challenges, and political disagreements, despite the graduation of the first batch of unified forces.

The agreement prohibits the recruitment of armed forces outside the agreed security framework.

South Sudan’s transitional government is preparing for national elections scheduled for December 2026 amid rising political tensions, including complaints from the SPLM-IO party led by detained First Vice President Riek Machar.