Something about our leaders of Southern Sudan
By Wani Tombe
September 25, 2007 — Despite some weaknesses that match against strengths of any leader in this world, our leaders of Southern Sudan in this 21st Century have done and are doing a commendable job in liberating our people from all sorts of injustices inflicted on them by the subsequent Khartoum-based regimes of the North.
I should first begin by acknowledging the great contribution of our late leader and hero, Dr. John Garang de Mabior, who ultimately sacrificed his life for our people after twenty-one years of our struggle in the bush. Despite some of weaknesses he had and negative readings in the media and some stories I heard from friends, describing him a dictator who only loved his Bor people and had plans for them to rule the South through the help of Jalaba or Northern power in a united Sudan, I love this man for winning the support of the international community to the people of Southern Sudan. He was a great politician and diplomat! The South will miss him for a very long time.
1st Lt. Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit, First Vice President of the Republic of Sudan and President of the Government of Southern Sudan is also a good leader to me, despite some of his weaknesses. Some of his weaknesses include the rapid outbreak of corruption in the Government of Southern Sudan under his very own eyes and conscience. Today under his leadership, the recent leaked out statistics indicate that thirty percent (30%) of the paid workforce in Southern Sudan is a combination of ghost names and duplicated names (people getting double pay a month).
Other issues include tribalism and nepotism in employment of civil servants in the Government. A lot of Ministries have employed their unqualified tribesmen and relatives in higher grades on consolidated basis without the approval of the Ministry of Labour, Public Service and Human Resources Development. Or maybe the Ministry of Public Service condones this act as well. This unproductive workforce, coupled with the already mentioned thirty percent of ghost and duplicated names, eat up our economy in Southern Sudan.
President Kiir also seemed to have failed to contain the bad behaviour of his ethnic group, the Dinka, who misbehave by insulting almost every body in the streets of Juba, with the exception of those from Nuer ethnic group. They boast that they have liberated every body and that any of their behaviour should not be questioned. They believe that the liberation struggle is over and that they did it alone. Kiir should do more on this since every Southerner is a hero who has contributed to the struggle either silently or by shooting a gun. I wonder if our late hero, Dr. John Garang, would have condoned this bad behavior had he lived to this date. This is a dangerous behaviour and it caused the first division in the South or ‘kokora’ in the old days of Abel Alier and Joseph Lagu. These self-claimed liberators also go to the extent of torturing and killing innocent foreigners like Ugandans who supported us in our struggle. This is like somebody who bites a hand that feeds him or her.
The recent reshuffle in the GoSS cabinet in which the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs was given to Dr. Luka Tombekana Monoja, an Equatorian, is a commendable Job by Gen. Salva Kiir. President Kiir seems to have now sensed that it is important to share power in sovereign positions among the Southern regions and ethnicities. I also commend him for doing what our late hero, Dr. Garang, failed to do, and that is uniting all military and political forces in Southern Sudan. Juba Declaration between the SPLM/A and the South Sudan Defense Forces (SSDF) has strengthened the capacity and capability of the people of Southern Sudan to face the challenges a head of us in the CPA implementation. I love him so much for that!
The Vice President of the Government of Southern Sudan, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, is a visionary leader like our late leader, Dr. John Garang. To me, he resembles Garang despite some of his weaknesses. One of his weaknesses or mistake he committed was when he declared his coup in 1991 against Garang while the Movement was losing support from Ethiopia due to the collapse of the Mengistu regime in that country. The split resulted in the Movement losing strategic towns to the enemy. I don’t understand what might have prompted him to act like that at that particular time.
However, Dr. Machar is a very nice, kind and lovely leader. He is a charming person with true loving heart for his people. He is a great politician and very skillful diplomat. He is the champion of peace and self-determination for the people of Southern Sudan. This is a fact, which can be acknowledged even by his enemies. When he signed the Khartoum Peace Agreement in 1997, I was in Juba. He really liberated the people of Juba from the Jalaba when his forces entered Juba. Before his forces entered Juba, life in Juba was like living in hell. There was a dawn to dust curfew in the town. There was restriction of people’s movement. Juba bridge was sealed off by the Jalaba forces. Dr. Machar’s arrival changed almost every thing. He is someone who can never sell his soul to the Northern power and money. He convincingly proved this beyond any reasonable doubt in his Khartoum Peace Agreement. Dr. Machar believes in total independence and freedom of the people of Southern Sudan. I strongly believe that if this man is given a chance, he would do very well for Southern Sudan.
The recent delegation of development and political powers of the Presidency to him by Gen. Salva Kiir is a good step forward. I believe if such powers were delegated to him since the formation of the Government of Southern Sudan two years ago, things would have improved much better by now. I hope it is not too late. Dr. Machar is a leader I love very much!
Our Speaker of the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly, Lt. Gen. James Wani Igga, is also doing a commendable job in the Parliament despite some of his weaknesses. He has taken up the fight against all sorts of corruption in the Government. He is making sure that necessary bills are introduced and enacted in the Assembly.
However, Honourable Wani Igga needs to do some more. His Parliament should not only fight for the welfare of its members as is the case now. He should make sure that civil servants in Southern Sudan are treated fairly and that citizens exercise their rights. Speaker Wani Igga is a man I am very proud of particularly in our Bari Community. I love him, too.
*The author is based in in Juba. He can be reached at [email protected]
Dr.
Something about our leaders of Southern Sudan
Dear Writer (Mr. Wani Tombe),
You got a point that you are partially blind to present and on this surprise, I choose to advise that please, you should present your opinions on political issues in relation to the government naked and with a reasonable gap from the dear name of our communities.
By this time, useful Sudanese have already known the differences between the Government and the Tribes.
Do not abuse your Freedom of Expression, It does not mean talking ill of tribes, does it? How many tribes are in Sudan? If we all wear the glasses you are putting and start pointing at each other in places like here, on what is done wrong “what future would we make?”
So Mr. Writer, The fact is Let ‘s also look at what is done right, we might avoid some talks unknowingly.
I personally thanks God that most of the enemies of Tribal peace in the past are able to see by now that We have one thing in common (Southern Sudan) and therefore should be able to respect each other in the name of this in order to have peace.
Mentioning Dinka in statements attack or praising Bari on mountains when confused will not change the behaviour as you described.
If we could have people like you for opinions uniting Sudan and advising the government we can make a better Southern Sudan as heading to.
You can not see what we want the country to be in a minute, is that one person effort? No leader can ver claim that than us the People of Southern Sudan.
So please, please Fellow citizen. Keep writting with unity guide a side. you might be an agent for the differeces
Bob Tata
Something about our leaders of Southern Sudan
hi Wani Tombe!
The Dinka ethnic group of GoSS (not all the Dinka people in South Sudan) have denied about 80% of the power to their tribal-men! Why? Because they are perhaps regarding themselves as victorious because of the staggering number of their high- ranked commanders in SPLA! But that is absolutely nonsense, because during the war of liberation those who used to go to front lines were Nuer’s high ranked commanders including Dr Riek Machar himself + commanders from other ethnic minority groups of upper Nile region ( such as Dr Lam Akol of Shulluk tribe) as well as those commanders from Equatoria region, why? Well, to eliminate them in order to favour the way for Garang’s tribal men to rule south Sudan after the liberation believably! This is logic because no one can answer the question: what killed other commanders from other tribes and not the Dinka commanders?
Unfortunately, majority of our heroes who really fought the war are now dead leaving only those opportunist groups to grasp the opportunity of their death and now are even claiming that they fought in the bush!
Thus, to me nothing should justify any claim by those greedy traitors that they are the liberators of the people of South Sudan! As during the war most of them used to prefer living in Itang refugee camp with woman and children or to work as bodyguards of their relatives who were high- ranked commanders! than to go to front line to fight the enemy, while those who had no other option whatsoever, used to go to front and simply got killed because the war was not well organised and soldiers used to be commanded by primitive or less educated commanders! The very evidence was when SPLA used to be defeated by Nuer civilians when trying to protect their livestock and other properties from the SPLA hooligans!
So, the question is: which war they fought other than robbing refugee of their rations and sell it to Ethiopian traders very cheaply while some of their comrades were dying with hunger or starvation in the front lines ! Snatching hot alcohols while still under distillation and among other digressing and shameful deeds! Those who went to Itang will acknowledge the truth I am telling you about them, they were just greedy and needy people who can simply kill you because of food.
Time is coming when they will proved wrong about the fact south Sudan is not yet liberated and we are still having a long way to go in order to achieve that target.
But how after they have exposed their hidden agenda to people of South Sudan!
About your mention of entering of SSDF to Juba, I am very please that they didn’t do what SPLA’s Dinka are doing now Juba people! I am also very delighted that they managed to protect their brothers, the residents of Juba Town! I am happy they portrayed what make us Nuer! The protection of vulnerable and not taking advantage of their vulnerabilities! I said this because SSDF forces were made up of up to 70% of Nuer and if they mistreated the people of Juba Town it could be contrary to Nuer tradition, values and culture! Let us hope that our brothers from Dinka tribe who are not happy with the way their tribe men are treating people in Juba must tell them to treat other tribes with respect! Because we were all suffered in the bush and thus all the people of South Sudan deserve full representation and power-sharing!
I am sure not all the Dinka people are happy with the way some of their tribal men are treating the Juba citizens.
Bol Thourmuck of Greater Nuer(Greater Nasir)