Citizens in Mundri continue to wrestle the old guards
By Justin Ambago Ramba, MD.
June 2, 2010 — Sadly enough the intimidation campaigns in Western Equatoria state that started way ahead of the April 2010 general elections seems destined to continue forever as evidenced by the recent actions of some old guards from the SPLM party whose dreams to remain in the realm of power were shuttered by the professionalism of a well behaved electoral committee chairperson in western Equatoria State.
Western Equatoria is now on the verge of being pulled back yet into another bout of internal destabilisation, as the former deputy governor who finds it hard to depart with power, has gone through the back doors to use the state apparatus in settling partisan scores with former campaign members of our newly elected governor, Col. Bagasi Joseph Bakosoro.
The defeat inflicted on some of the SPLM party candidates, especially so on the former governor Jemma Nunu Kumba has regrettably set her close aides and allies to harbour ill feelings against their own native communities.
There is now as I write, a serious development unfolding up in the Moruland, where in the last three weeks the western Equatoria’s Mundri Area from Jambo to Karika has become an SPLA power showing theatre, experiencing yet another SPLM sponsored destabilisation campaign.
The saga begun on May 07, 2010 when a group of SPLA military intelligence came from Maridi and upon arrival to Mundri they went straight to the Commissioner’s office, from there they went to the Joint Integrated Unit (JIU), military HQRs where they were re-enforced by two uniform soldiers . These soldiers then headed for where the local youth normally gathered and arrested a young man called Joseph Ngatua, who is perceived to be a youth leader and the chief election campaigner of the governor-elect Col. Joseph Bakosoro.
According to eye witnesses the SPLM intelligence team drove back to JIU Head quarters, with the intent of misleading the people that Mr. Ngatua was being taken there, while in fact he was moved to another tinted vehicle on their way to Maridi. Realizing that their colleague could be in imminent danger, the local youth immediately mobilized themselves and took off to rescue him.
Based on sources that prefer to remain anonymous these soldiers’ were eventually stopped by the youth at Karika, and successfully managed to rescue their colleague’s life. During the interrogation the soldiers confessed that they were sent by, Col. Joseph Ngere, the former deputy governor, Jasmine Samuel, former advisor to Jemma Nunu and Bullen Abiatter, the former commissioner of Mundri West County.
Few days later, another military force was also sent to Karika and Mundri by the same people to go and disarm the civilians and hand over Mr. Joseph Ngatua and eight other youths who were involved in the bloodless rescue mission. This move caused a huge tension in the area, which was only resolved after the intervention of some concerned citizens of the area, through their consultations with authorities in the GOSS and the SPLA General Head Quarters in Juba.
The issue should have been ended there, unfortunately that was not to be the case with the trio. On May 28, 2010 another force was sent to Mundri this time under the command of a major general, the following day Saturday, May 29th, Chiefs and community members were asked to attend a public meeting, where they were given two conditions to be met within 24 hours or otherwise. One is to hand over Joseph Ngatua, Col. Bakosoro’s chief campaigner in the area and secondly, to hand over all sorts of weapons.
So much to the audience’s dismay, the former commissioner is said to have used foul and vulgar language including I quote:
“You Moru you claim to be men now see the real men are here”, while pointing to the armed soldiers. “Where are your men? He added. What is these supposed to mean? Was it a show of power or is it another declaration of ill- intensions to allow for another bloodbath in the Moruland. I humbly advice my brother the former commissioner to take his men, if they are men enough, to hunt down Joseph Kony of the LRA and not Joseph Ngatua, a fellow Moru-Uni, who was only practising his democratic rights in the run up for the last April’s elections.
It is worth drawing attention to the wider mess that the ruling SPLM party has now dragged the south into. There were classic patterns of behaviours so far demonstrated by the former SPLM county Commissioners in their disgusting and unpatriotic roles in rigging the April 2010 elections through intimidations, harassments and political biasness.
A elder from the Mundri County who spoke also on condition of anonymity, said that:
“Joseph Ngatua who had campaigned vigorously against the former governor in support of the new has been hunted down by the security forces until he had to come and hand himself over to the Police in Juba following the arrest of his uncle by security forces. The charges they have labelled against Joseph Ngatua are that he had said bad things against the government. This is contrary to what the President of South Sudan himself had said that all misunderstandings and hatred that may have been caused by election should be forgiven and forgotten”.
Now that the citizens are handing in arms at the Police Station at Mundri will the international community that is keen to see peace in south Sudan press very hard for democracy, good governance and the rule of law to prevail. And may an end be brought to the many arbitrary arrests being carried out by the SPLA security apparatus with the intent to silence and disgrace other activists.
It will be a mockery in the face of the international community should SPLM be allowed to abuse the state apparatus with impunity to oppress fellow south Sudanese in towns and villages, while we are quick to condemn Omer al Bashir and his equally ruthless NCP, for mistreating political rivals in the north.
The people of south Sudan are in a dire need for a proper human rights monitoring and well planned interventions to bring to a halt this system of arbitrary arrests, open intimidations, harassments and human rights abuses, which are being passed for normal practices on daily basis.
Dr. Justin Ambago Ramba, M.B, B.Ch, D.R.H, MD. he can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected]
jur_likang_a_ likan'g
Citizens in Mundri continue to wrestle the old guards
What would you expect when the army is controlled mainly by one ethnic group of people? I think South Sudan is heading for disaster. As long as we continue to see the replacement of Jallaba government with a government of one ethnic group then you can expect trouble. Like Jallaba gvernment that masquarade as all Sudanese government, Juba government that is typically an ethnic government is disguising itself in the name of South Sudan. South Sudan needs an all inclusive government. All its institutions should reflect all or most of the ethnic groups of South Sudan. We can not afford to have the Commissioner of Police, Commissioner of Prisons and most of Commanding officers of South Sudan army from a single ethnic group. My question is: Is this not marginalisation that we have been claiming to fight against? Mark me or not if you ask such type of questions it is likely you are termed Jallaba collaborator!! But when you critically look at how things are going you find that Osman Taha share a table with the Boss of Goss.
James Okuk Solomon
Citizens in Mundri continue to wrestle the old guards
Disarming the Unarmed Civilian; SPLA Incompetence: I have never seen in the whole world that an army of peace can go out madly to disarm the civilian who don’t posses arms, and leave those with arms to do their insurgence freely. But what happens when the shameless SPLA go out brutally to disarm the unarmed civilians of Southern Sudan in the Shilluk Kingdom and Equatoria, for example? Surely, the SPLA is telling them to arm themselves whether as arrow-boys or spear-boys or gun-boys so that they could get disarmed. This is South Sudan we would like to have under the bad rule of Slava Kiir and the cronies!!! God have mercy!!!!
The up-side-down that the SPLM has done with democracy when its leaders went out to chose their voters (rigging) instead of voters coming in to choose them freely, is exactly the very up-side-down they are doing now by going out to oppress the civilians to produce arms from no where so that they are collected in the name of disarmament and exhibited in the SSTV as an excellent work. The SPLA has been defeated in many battles by the real armed men in Southern Sudan. For example, this week in a village called Ogod, some kilometers north of Malakal town, the SPLA were badly defeated by some few gun-men who killed 9 from them. After the defeat and retreat the very SPLA went amok beating, torturing and doing other dirty things to the civilian villages in the Shilluk Kingdom that had nothing to do with those who defeated them. The SPLA still keeps under arrest and torture in unknown location, some SPLM-DC members in Malakal (Dr. Odol, Hon Gai, etc.). They have also arrested inside the town the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) Director General of Greater Upper Nile, Lt. Colonel, Josephy Awan Nyikako, simply because he is nephew of Dr. Lam Akol, and because he opposes torturing and oppression of civilians in the name of false disarmament.
Is this the South we shall have under the SPLM/A self-acclaimed liberators where the National Security Directors and other parties members (including MPs) are arrested without any charges, but opposing the evil deeds by the SPLA? I think with this behavior from the SPLM/A, the bushes of Southern Sudan shall be rich of rebels against Kiir’s regime soon before or after the referendum (if it is going to take place at all). Very Bad!