Yambio incident needs deeper investigation

By Simon Kuot Kuot

How will southern Sudan benefit from her sons and daughters in Diasporas?

November 11, 2007 — We expect them to come back home with skills and progressive ideas reflecting the social and cultural standard of their adopted countries. However, following the Yambio incidents, the first people who misinterpreted it as a tribal action are those in Diaspora.

And I think if some thing like that occurs in USA or even in any one of our neighbouring countries, it would not be understood in that way. The nation we are trying to forge will not be realised if we continue understanding the events of this kind from tribal perspectives. Building nation is not a simple undertaking; it needs collective efforts of the sons and the daughters of the nation. What happened in Yambio was the flagrant manifestation of indiscipline by our soldiers.’ The late officers did not know that they would be killed by their soldiers; otherwise, they would have taken necessary precaution to defend them selves. Southern Sudanese have lost very important officers who would have made great deal of contributions to the development and establishment of police department in the country. The SPLA soldiers could do the same thing to any senior officer or any senior official in this government when ever there is a slight provocation; because they think that there are some people enjoying the fruits of their struggle at their expense. And consequently, when ever they see any senior government official in good health, they think he is the bourgeoisie they were fighting against to eliminate. Last month in Wau we saw people running helter -skelter, we asked the reason and were told it were some soldiers causing havoc; my colleague asked me if we could go and see, I refuted his suggestion on the ground that we might be the targets of those soldiers since we have big stomachs.

There is no where in any Army where mere soldiers can do the like what happened in Yambio without reason, there must be some reasons and the recently formed investigation team by the GOSS should do a through investigation to find out the reason responsible for that murder. The culprits should be apprehended and investigated to tell the motive behind their heinous deed. The enemies of the unity of southern Sudan tried to give it different interpretation befitting the disunity spirit they are contemplating.

Dinka as an ethnic group should not be made scapegoat for crime perpetrated by individuals. I don’t know whether the soldiers who killed their officers are apprehended or not, and if they are not apprehended, then how did they know that they are Dinka. And even if they are Dinka, they should be taken responsible for their crime as individuals by the Law, and any unsuspecting Dinka should not be victimised for nothing. Further more, they should tell southern Sudanese what they will gain from the death of the officers they have killed. The investigation should not look at this case as simple as that, deeper investigation should take place to examine other factors related to the incident. The Brigadier was only seven days in Yambio and got killed, we need to know the where about of the officer he had come to replace, and how did other senior police officers in the state perceive his appointment. The government of southern Sudan should carry out the investigation to dig out the reasons responsible for the death of three officers and subsequently communicate it to their relatives to avoid misplaced revenge.

The reasons why our soldiers do not have discipline need to be identified and addressed by the SPLA Army command, SPLA soldiers as the bastion of Southern Sudanese freedom, need to undergo more training including discipline to be respecting their officers and masses they are protecting. It was exactly in this month of November 2005 when innocent bloods were shed in Yambio in a senseless intertribal fight. The religious leaders need to pray to exorcise the haunting spirits from the town; other wise this month of November will continue as an ominous month in the town.

* The author is based in Aweil, southern Sudan. He can be reached at
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