SPLM RECEIVES PETITION FROM TENET COMMUNITY FOLLOWING ARILO INCIDENT; PLEDGES HUMANITARIAN AID, TELECOM EXPANSION, AND STRICT PARTY DISCIPLINE

The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) National Secretariat has officially received a high-level delegation representing the Tenet community of Arilo Payam of Lafon county, Eastern Equatoria State, following violent incidents that left villages burned and hundreds of civilian families displaced.

In a meeting chaired by SPLM First Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs Mobilization and Organization Cde. Koang Danhier, SPLM Secretary for Political Affairs Mobilization and Organization Cde. Amb. John Andurga Duku, SPLM Acting Secretary for Culture Information and Communication Cde. Amb. Jimmy Atilio, alongside senior members of SPLM National Secretariat for Political Affairs Mobilization and Organization received a formal petition presented by the community leaders and discuss immediate interventions.

During the briefing, the Chairman of the Tenet Community, Philip Abdallah Omoromoi, alongside his deputy, presented a report detailing an outbreak of violence on August 26 in the Arilo area, located north of Torit. According to community representatives, the attacks resulted in the destruction of homes, burning of essential food stores, and the displacement of vulnerable populations, primarily women and children. Displaced residents are currently taking shelter in local schools, churches, under trees, and beneath temporary tarpaulins. Omoromoi noted that local citizens had gathered on August 25 to complete membership registration for the SPLM prior to the sudden security breakdown.

The delegation highlighted severe telecommunications isolation in Eastern Equatoria, explaining that news of the August 26 incident took up to four days to reach state authorities. Community messengers were forced to travel on foot over multiple days, from August 26 to August 28, simply to locate mobile network coverage to report the emergency. 

The SPLM Secretary for Political Affairs called on the National Communication Authority and mobile network operators, to expand cellular coverage across Lafon County and rural areas in South Sudan.

 Emphasizing that widespread connectivity is indispensable for public safety, rapid emergency response, and ensuring full civic participation ahead of upcoming national elections.

Following the session, the SPLM leaders confirmed that the community’s petition outlines three core demands. First, the community requests immediate humanitarian assistance, including food, shelter, and medical supplies, for displaced families taking refuge in public structures across Arilo. Second, they call for an official fact-finding investigation committee to determine the root causes of the violence and identify those responsible. Third, they request the executive escalation and transmission of the formal petition from the SPLM Secretary-General directly to the Chairman of the SPLM and President of the Republic for decisive executive action.

 The SPLM Secretary for Political Affairs issued a firm warning regarding the party's newly reinforced Disciplinary Code of Conduct, emphasizing that violations will carry severe consequences.

"The SPLM Disciplinary Code of Conduct will spare nobody," the Secretary for Political Affairs stated. "Any member of the SPLM who takes the law into their own hands, incites division, or misleads community members outside the party's legal framework will be held fully accountable and brought to book."

The SPLM commends the Tenet community for choosing legal and institutional channels to seek redress and urges all citizens in the area to refrain from reprisal actions while formal government and party interventions are underway.