Treat the claim Of $60 mln with sobriety!
By Isaiah Abraham
Jan 18, 2007 — President Omar Hassan Ahmed El Bashir declared in Juba on the 9th Anniversary to mark the 2nd Birth of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that he had given the Movement (SPLM) $60 m as an expense for their return and participate in the Peace drive. This has been made public to the surprise and chagrin of many. So they asked: was it given to Garang? A bribe? Where did Garang put the money to? In his Bank Account? The rumour spread like fire. The conclusion is…
Now the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) from there pick up the bait by establishing a probe to look into what has now come up as a scandal targetted mainly on the personality of deceased leader Dr. John Garang de Mabior. Dr. Samson Kwaje of Radio/TVs and Information heads the team. He has come out openly thumbing his chest of going against every odd in the process to unearth the truth. His boss President Salva Kiir Mayardit on his prime thinking wanted to exonerate himself from what he inwardly exude as mess done outside his watch to confirm and score home his unfinished business of being sidelined by Garang in the Movement affairs.
Looking carefully to the statement by President Bashir of Sudan, there wasn’t anything specific or scandalous. It is GOSS President who scandalized it! Here we go. President didn’t say categorical whether his Goverment give the money on whose terms or levels. Nobody moreover knows whether the money was given as a grant or a token to the Movement to make them join the Goverment. But one thing is clear and that is the money was given to facilitate the process of rebels joining the Government. The money may have been used for any of Movement’s activities during that time or say part of it may have been used there then. The individuals incharged of money I guess then were Mr. Arthur Akuien Chol and Dr. Chirino Hiteng. The former for the Movement at large and Dr. Hiteng for the Chairman affairs. That money couldn’t get into the pocket of Dr Garang without any prior knowledge by either Arthur or Dr. Hiteng. True or false? The two Ministers are now serving as living eye witnessess. They weren’t corrupt as some of us know them. I can’t swear now!
What we need to understand clearly however is this: the context under which the statement was issued doesn’t qualify GOSS President to carry out the probe. El Bashir mumbled because of Mr. Kiir remarks on CPA failures on the side of the National Congress Party (NCP). He couldn’t grab on anything against the Movement except to visit his unbaked truth about SPLM/A taking long from coming to take their seats in Khartoum & Juba. The CPA has a schedule and that was Six Pre Interim Period has to be observed. Every details there was followed to the letter. El Bashir did say anything.
Back to the argument. Most people know that much of SPLM funds comes in term of assistance. Sudan Government knew that the Movement didn’t have money for transport among others. They were right to send money to the SPLM and they did it on good faith (if…). Anything wrong there or here? Why politicize this statement? Supposed El Bashir is proven right and that the money had actually been sent to SPLM or Garang in particular, what is special? We might add any other bad name for Garang by perhaps call him a thief, criminal, corrupt, conman, etc but what is a deal? He was a leader and has the right to pursue war using whatever resources available to make it happen. We are seeing the fruits of those efforts, why not take the fight to the heart of the government (GOSS) where legal and formation is an established thing now and where corruption is lethal? Its not in $60 m but in $400 m. This is being hypocrical. Therefore, its purely an insinuation and at best a character assassination compaign by President Kiir and his men to tarnish the reputation of his prodecessor late Dr. Garang and his men particularly Mr. Nhial Deng Nhial & Pagan Amum Okiech.
Nobody anywhere likes being associated with crimes or criminals. Corruption by any standard is a crime of conscience and it is just that bad. But to the best knowledge of many Dr. Garang wasn’t a corrupt leader. He never handled money and wasn’t in a hurry to make money. His Ethiopian days and Nairobi then plus his friends to bees heads of governments around the world would have made this hero a billionaire. If he was rich his children couldn’t have been assisted by his long time friends Y. Kaguta Museveni and Dr. John Aketch.
When SPLA Nasir Faction in 1991 raised in their ‘Why Garang Must go’ leaflet, that Garang runs the Liberation Movemet as as show: ‘He (Garang) has been everyhing from the Chairman down to the Storeman…’ . When realities availed themselves, the smearing slogans disappeared quickly! The two Drs (Lam & Riek) as rebel leaders afterward realized that there is no organized and systematic flow of money to rebels movements. What happen is that a group of individuals and in remote cases Goverments send money to rebel organizations through programs and activities. In the details that is where the devil is! Here the leader doesn’t under any dures handle money. Dr. Garang wasn’t an exception.
Having stated the obvious, let’s take this underlying scenario. If this matter is burry in the sand or thrown out altogether how sure are we to heal quickly the aftermath consequences to avoid eventual schemism that could divide the Movement (GOSS) in the middle, between Garang’s men (but in actual term who wasn’t Garang student?) who are accused of corruption and their ‘Holy than thou’ self proclaimed corrupt zsars. This is an important draw of this writing! We shall pretend all along that all is well but in reality there is nothing like that here, given this development! Just read between the lines and that Organization is in trouble! Generally we would make as many gestures to prove ourselves angels but the same methods could be used against everyone in the SPLM/A when it leaves power to others. Vendetta is uncivilized!
Therefore the true judgment from here is that we must not lose focus on our target to fight for our liberation and freedom against Khartoum. The probability is that Dr. Samson and team would only save face of the GOSS but not the face of the ruling party, the SPLM. At least for time being! It would have been better for them to protect the later. Garang and his men ofcourse made some mistakes in their lives in the course of the struggle; but those socalled mistakes can’t make us blind of numerous strides & achievements they scored on our behalf. Mr. President is flatly wrong on this and would be wrong in the future if this is the leadership he potrays. Staging persocution against his predecessor (the deceased one at that) is unethical and morally unjustified. Abacha’s situation is unlikely in our case. If that what Mr. Kiir’s men wanted to apply on Dr Garang then they are courting disaster to themselves and to the entire system they were once out to destroy or wish to die. They are mistaken! This probe should be disbanded. Mr. Kiir and his men would have taken the rumour in their stride and in private investigate. This would have change the situation for better. Now the cat is out and the interesting thing is how are they going to handle the damage caused therein.
Corruption in the GOSS shouldn’t be magnified; its there yes and real but not exactly the way it is as circulated in some critical media. What we really know is happening at day time is tribalism & nepotism. This is a cancer and if there is any fighting that is expected to be fought on our hearts, its this one. We ought not to mix them and claim the meaning to be the same. Nepotism is just simple: an act of giving favors to your close relative or tribeman/woman. This is a fact of life and if GOSS wanted a credibility, they must rise above petty cases of visiting dirty books of personalities and face this matter once and for all. In Juba if the Minister is from a certain section of tribe, other members automatically come from that tribe. This again is understandable as majority of appointments in Juba weren’t advertised and the only way a minister could fill in several position to boast budget was to go for the ‘devil they know than an angel they don’t’. This situation however will change in the future as professionalism will override the ‘thick blood’.
The author is based in southern Sudan. He can be reached at [email protected]