Sudan’s WES governor was proven guilty before his innocence
By Ohiyok D. Oduho*
June 30, 2006 — Col. Patrick Zamoi, the Governor of Western Equatoria State (WES), was suspended by a Government of South Sudan (GoSS) presidential decree no. 42, on June 15th, 2006. He was placed under house arrest with his entire family and his deputy was appointed to take over the WES governorship. Col. Zamoi was accused of corruption and incitement to tribal conflict.
The issue of Col. Zamoi’s suspension was widely reported by most of the daily newspapers and it appears that it has come to a rest. However, a public issue such as that of Col. Zamoi cannot come to a rest so easily, because there is more into the suspension of Col. Zamoi than meets the eye.
A majority of South Sudanese, including those who did not know the details of Col. Zamoi’s crimes of corruption and incitement to tribal conflict, do not believe that Col. Zamoi committed the alleged crimes. “I am a Dinka and I come from Bor itself. I was in Yambio and have lived there for the past 12 years. There have never been problems like this before. I witnessed the clashes. To be truthful and honest, I must say that if it was not because of Col. Patrick Zamoi himself who threatened the Azande and Muru communities, other Dinkas and I could not be alive”, (Deng Job Marial, Sudan Tribune Website, June 20th, 2006).
On the same line of those who think Col. Zamoi is innocent, there are those who argue that democracy was not been given its due process. For example, Col. Zamoi’s case should have been tabled before the WES Interim Legislative Assembly (WESILA) for discussion. Then WESILA should have formed a parliamentary committee to investigate the alleged crimes committed by Col. Zamoi. The results or the findings of such an investigation should be tabled before the WESILA and, depending on Col. Zamoi’s guilt, WESILA would be obliged to pass a vote of no confidence in Col. Zamoi; or in the absence of such an article in the WES Interim Constitution, recommend his dismissal to the President of GoSS.
On the other hand, there are those who think that any corrupt and tribal inciter should not only be suspended but also fired, perhaps without investigations. “The people of South Sudan should have zero tolerance towards corruption, misrule, tribally arrogant leaders and those (leaders) who lack respect for the rule of law”, (Hon. Pasquale Clement Batali, Khartoum Monitor, June 25th, 2006, p. 3).
Human nature demands from every peaceful and civilized human being a just process in addressing every crisis, ranging from a crisis in a simple nucleus family institution to a crisis in an institution of government. It was on this very basis that laws to govern family and hence government institutions were formulated by men of goodwill. Thus, the GoSS has such laws represented in the Interim Constitution of South Sudan as well as that of WES government.
The case of Col. Zamoi appeared to have not followed any proper legal process. Because at first the statement of his suspension and subsequent detention said, “Following perusal of a report on investigation of tribal clashes in WES, that claimed a number of lives, the President of GoSS issued a decree suspending WES Governor, Col. Patrick Zamoi.” The statement went on to say that, “His deputy has been appointed Acting Governor, pending the Governor’s investigation.”
A contradiction could clearly be seen from the GoSS statement to suspend Col. Zamoi. If at all the said report was genuine and indeed authentic, the GoSS does not need another investigation to prove the guilt of Col. Zamoi. If the report was not authentic then Col. Zamoi should have been allowed to execute his duties normally until such a time that an authenticated report – incriminating him of the alleged crimes – is produced.
The three arms of government, namely the parliament, the executive and the judiciary are triplet, born of one mother, the constitution. The parliament legislates, the executive endorses and the judiciary executes. Thus, the popular legal phrase that says: “Everybody is innocent till proven guilty by a court of law” was not applied on poor Col. Zamoi. Col. Zamoi was proven guilty before his innocence. This kind of upside down use of the law could only be found in the army. A soldier must be arrested first, detained and then tried later to prove his/her innocence. The army has a reason for making this kind of legal process – the soldier may run away or take his gun and shoot people at random. Although he is a soldier, this could obviously not be the case with Col. Zamoi, who seems to be a victim of tribal ire, an ire that prompted those executing his case blindfolded by tribal wrath that is why his political immunity was not even respected.
It was said that if left alone South Sudanese would not manage a civilised government, because they are barbarians. Seeing the way things are being run in the South, perhaps those who said this are not far from the truth. What could be more barbaric than putting guilt before innocence?
No one accepts tribal incitement, which is much more dangerous than corruption. It was tribal incitement, which brought South Sudan down to its knees during the era of Abel Alier in the 70s and early 80s. Those who supported such tribal incitements like Kokora (Bari tribe word for division) are now senior government officials in the GoSS; has anybody thought of trying them? No, and it would be a bad idea to do that.
Azande died in the very tribal clashes with the Dinka of which Col. Zamoi is accused. Dinka soldiers gunned down Commander (Cdr.) Luka Mpakassiro in late 90s in WES. Should those who gunned him down Cdr. Mpakassiro be arrested and tried? May be not – for the sake of forging the unity of South Sudan; but why is Col. Zamoi’s case an exceptional one then?
Let the case of Col. Zamoi be an eye opener for the GoSS in its dealing with sensitive issues of tribalism. The President of the South is a good man, but it appears that he too, is a victim of bad advisors. There is no tribe which is better than the other and certainly there is no tribe that deserves to die while another deserves to live. Future committees to investigate tribal incitements should always be composed of people who are not party to the clashes. In fact, a permanent committee needs to be formed, trained and commissioned by the GoSS President to resolve future tribal conflicts. This could be the only viable way to save the President of GoSS from bad advisors. It was bad advice that brought about the failure of Abel Alier’s regime. The history of the South should be the best advisor to the all the leaders in the GoSS, including H.E. the President of the South.
With the wave of misbahiour displayed by some section of Dinka tribes in the South, the GoSS should expect more tribal conflicts because other tribes are bound to react. Unless the said committee, which must be equipped with the knowledge of conflict resolution and management, goes around the South to sensitise the people on the dangers of tribal conflicts, conflicts would always disturb GoSS. The sensitisation process must also include the encouragement of internally Displaced People (IDPs) to return to their original homes.
The idea that every South Sudanese is free to live anywhere is a recipe for conflict and the GoSS should not entertain it. There is no anywhere, because anywhere is a land that belongs to a particular group of people. Living anywhere definitely does not mean a mass exodus of an entire tribe choosing to live anywhere. Most of the Dinka people now found in Equatoria were displaced from their original homes by the war, tribal or the just ended civil war. The war is now over and as such, these IDPs must return home and should drop out any ideas that they have homes in Equatoria or elsewhere other than their ancestral homes, which no Equatorian could ever dream of occupying.
The IDPs in WES victimised Col. Zamoi and so long as the IDPs remain in Equatoria, the other two Governors in Equatoria will fall victims, too. The IDPs seem to be encouraged by their leaders to claim lands that do not belong to them to stay in Equatoria. The GoSS should also investigate and identify these leaders and bring them under control. Failure to bring them under control, these leaders will continue to incite their tribe to occupy Equatoria and Governors of Equatoria will always be at the centre of conflicts arising from this occupation. Otherwise, what message could someone get from the suspension and subsequent arrest of Col. Zamoi?
* The author is a columnist at the Sudan Vision Newspaper. He is a former regional minister of Health in Eastern Equatoria. He can be reached at [email protected].