A South Sudanese youth body has waded into the controversial report alleging botched coup plots during the 2013 and 2016 political turmoil.

The Senior Youth of South Sudan (SEYOSS) thanked the government for declassifying the report, saying it is prudent to know who was responsible for the costly violence to enable the process of healing and reconciliation to take place.

‘‘We, the Senior Youth of South Sudan (SEYOSS), wish to state that we have received and welcomed the report. We, therefore, commend the government for availing this report, because it is better than none,’’ the body stated in its press release seen by The City Review.

The body further challenged the South Sudanese youth “to create ample time to read the report intensively and exhaustively, to have different versions and knowledge of the root causes of the conflict in our country.’’

However, it warned against forming an opinion out of it, saying that the priority should be studying the report and understanding the allegations fronted in it, and that the content should be taken with a pinch of salt.

‘‘No one should make the mistake of disregarding it or taking the report as gospel truth because, at times, the report can be untruthful or truthful depending on the personality, credibility, and confidence that the public has in the authors of the report,” it stated, adding: “we encourage the Senior Youth of South Sudan to be guided by the principles of natural justice, and hence, the youth should avoid rushing to a conclusion considering the fact that the persons named and accused in the report are legally presumed innocent until proven guilty.”

The sentiments come after a British lawyer, Steven Kay QC, who was commissioned to write the report, launched a fierce defence on Friday, as he underpinned its credibility. Addressing the press in Juba last week, Kay said there was no iota of doubt that the report was factual and verifiable. Kay said that he was granted access to intercepted calls by the National Security Service. Kay also challenged the validity of initial findings by the African Union and the United Nations, which had ruled out the possibility of a coup plot on the two occasions the country plunged into a serious wave of violence.

The report implicated the First Vice President, Dr Riek Machar, as the primary mastermind of the coup. However, Dr Machar’s inner circle, led by his deputy party leader, Oyet Nathaniel, has disputed the findings. Speaking to The City Review last week, Oyet argued that if the report were valid, it would have mentioned perpetrators of violence across parties and covered security organs that were said to be responsible for human rights violations during the war.

By Friday last week, the SPLM/A-IO, through its spokesperson Puok Baluang, had said that it was assembling a legal team to study the report and give its response to it.