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Sudan Tribune

Plural news and views on Sudan

Dr Salva Kiir VS Dr Lam Akol

By James Okuk

June 7, 209 — Last year when the SPLM started the preparations for its 2nd Convention, I wrote a challenging article that the internal democratic transformation is going to be a hard test for this novice party. I understood that despite media vocality on “New Sudan on a New Basis” by its mediocre acolytes the reality remains; their incapacity and unwillingness to bridge the gap between the rhetoric and action while they claim political polymathy.

After the Convention, my projection became true as the occasion turned out to be a scam with upside down mockery to democracy; leaders choosing their own voters without a clear party programme. There, the real leadership crisis within the SPLM organs started to surface because nobody was sure amongst the contenders (Salva Kiir, Riek Machar and Nhial Deng) that democracy will choose him as a trusted friend. Because of this dubious feature, Mr. Salva Kiir got the second best SPLM leadership luck in his life time as he was given another chance for a benefit of doubt to prove himself trustworthy in the name of Unity of the historic Movement Party. However, this unity compromised the worsening SPLM leadership status quo in the South and unjustifiable abstaining of its Chairman from the North.

But without surprise and not longer than later, the re-crowned SPLM King forgot that there are still flies of corruption, tribalism, insecurity and incompetence on his Cheeks, and this could become suitable occasions for slapping him at ripen time; the elections period for leadership verdict.

Hitherto, and with the announcement of Dr. Lam Akol as the leader of the newly formed SPLM-DC Party, the SPLM King feels being slapped on the Cheeks and finding it hard to swallow the bitter fills for relieving the pain. He ran to President Al Bashir to block the new party from registering in National Political Parties Council but the NCP BoSS tells him that he is very sorry to intervene and muddle on other party’s affairs and so the King is free to pursue his dictatorial request where the mandate is located; the Chairman of Political Parties Council who says: I respect equal opportunity for competition as long as competitors are ready and qualified for the race.

Now, the SPLM King has been shown that it is time to compete on people’s confidence at the grassroots level and nobody (including Al-Bashir) can say he is the people until he is told so in the results of the 2010 ballots. Where will Salva Kiir get the guts then to tell Dr. Lam Akol to stay in his house after he has declared to the whole world that he is no longer an SPLM member? Has the time come for Kiir to wake up from his slumbers and blunders and start losing weight for a serious work of mobilizing SPLM capacities for winning the coming elections like what Al-Bashir has been doing now?

I think ‘Dr.’ Salva Kiir has got it into his nerves now that Dr. Lam does not joke around because he is a serious politician who knows what he is doing and where he is leading to. Kiir is going to remember what late Dr. John Garang said in colloquial Arabic: Jabatna entaht wa ma gadrin nagot tehet achan 1991 SPLM/A Split. If the competent Dr. Garang could not sit down and sleep when Dr. Lam and Dr. Riek branched from the movement, how will it be for Kiir when Dr. Lam tells him seriously that enough is enough and he must go home for the South and the CPA to be rescued from governance collapse? Will Kiir step down peacefully and leave the South to start enjoying peace dividends or will he choose confrontation with his competitors? Has he understood that Al Bashir will support Dr. Lam because this savvy politician has unwaveringly supported Al Bashir against the ICC indictment? If you have not gone to academic or empirical school of politics, this cooperation is called give and take from tete-a-tete and it has its good feedbacks.

Congratulations to Dr. Lam and his other comrades for taking the necessary courage to form a new party for democratic change. Surely, the disappointed people from Kiir’s SPLM leadership will be looking forward with a good hope for this new party to come up forcefully as a tsunami for competing over doing realistic good things rather than repeated bad situations in the country.

I wish this new party a good health, good luck and long life with the mass support of the discontented people from overdue bad governance and leadership in the Sudan, especially Southern Sudan where the need for development and security is high. Forward ever, backward never!

James Okuk, PhD Student, University of Nairobi.

25 Comments

  • Lokang
    Lokang

    Dr Salva Kiir VS Dr Lam Akol
    Damn!

    Am totally blown into a full commotion. Was it not that same Lame Ankle who was believe to sided with NCP and denied Publically that there is no Genocide in Darfur during his Foreign Ministerial era? Was it no same Lame Ankle who join the Northern for material benefit during the movement while some of his comrade scotch themselves with blasing shocks of RBGs and Anti-Nov (sp) shelling by what he claim to be his darling subordinate?

    It really beat the logic to think that, this new Party with Old brand name of the Party tinted with new emblem thought to be a reborn saviour of the South. I think first of all if the so call new party could be formed, then it names, leaders and advocate should wear new titles with brand new label.

    As swahili phrase says, “mtoto ya nyoka ni nyota”. In short to say, the child of snake is a snake. There is no point of releave to overwhelmingly withdraw our intended criticism to shape the current rotten leadership of the SPLM to change it habits of corruption.

    Who will judge me wrong if that new incarnated party is an agent of NCP or a new brand of NCP just only deceiving us southern by cloning the name of our Sought-To-Be darling party’s SPLM?

    I believe LAME ANKLE and his new executive body were the top dignitaries of the SPLM before they jerked off their deviant behaviors that leading to their sacking from the party, what important contribution did he and his likes advocate that may help us clear some lingering doubt? If not how are we gonna trust his new erra of leadership if he haven’t sown a new style of change during his presence in the party?

    Reply
  • sagadick
    sagadick

    Dr Salva Kiir VS Dr Lam Akol
    Dear James Okuk

    Your posted article carries two messages. The one that criticises the leadership of the SPLM Party and that which supports Dr. Lame’s newly formed Party the so called the SPLM-for Democratic Change. While agreeing that there is a need to make changes within the SPLM, I don’t agree that the desired changes could come from Dr. Lam Akol.

    Perhaps, you’ve forgotten that southerners (the majority) despise Dr. Lam Akol for betraying their struggle against the north. In 1991, he was the architect of the Nasir Coup which not only was about to put into trash the whole cause of our people but also murdered and tortured hundreds of our civilians (children, old-men/women) in Biem, Nhom, Bul, Panaru and in many other places across the country.

    As many already have mentioned, Lam has joined six parties since 1991. This only indicates that he is not after changes but after leadership.

    While his Newly Crowned Party sounds like real democratic changes within the SPLM, southerners cannot be deceive to support his party knowing that the NCP is behind its formation.

    Remember, on the 30th of May, 2009, Bashir introduced his friend’s party by threatening to ban the SPLM from operating in the northern part of the country if it does not remove the restrictions imposed on the other political parties in the south (http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article31339).

    Dr. Lam will soon make his early return. It is his habit.

    Reply
  • Akol Liai Mager
    Akol Liai Mager

    Dr Salva Kiir VS Dr Lam Akol
    Dear Mr. James Okuk,

    With your 1st Name as “James” I automatically thought that you are a Christian, but your recent articles revealed opposite. Why I say so, it is because of your own words in one of your 2008 articles where you said this; “Leave our Jashou to lead us to a promis land”

    Before I comment, can you tell the readers of your articles including myself who did you mean then with the words I have quoted between Dr. Lam Akol and Dr. Salva Kiir?

    I wrote Dr. Salva as you did, but fully aware that you never meant Dr. Salva, you meant Illiterate Salva Kiir. Having described General Kiir Mayardit as Illiterate, yopu put a big black hole in your career my friend. Kiir is not an Angel, but he got a case to follow consistently, he believes in a vision to address his case and follows one right route for 30 years with his people and your Angel Lam Akol have changed routes six times.

    Coming back to the question, if your answer is General Kiir Mayardit President Of GOSS, chairman and C’der In-Chief of the SPLM/A then your recent articles shows that you are not a soley Christian. This is because Jesus advised his followers not to believe in two Gods or Serve two masters. In another way, Jaang said “you are like a Hyena chasing two dogs”

    If you did mean Dr. Lam Akol, then you have cheated your readers and wasted their time to read your cheating articles.

    Today, I am very happy, SPLM should be very happy too and Lam Akol is laughing to himself. A second exit of Lam Akol from the SPLM is an event I have celebrated with ultimate joy because having a problem getting away by itself from you is a wonderful thing and that’s why SPLM should be happy as well.

    Having Lam Akol joined six parties and exit seven times in 24 years of lingering have killed the moral of your Jashou if you did meant Lam Akol and I am afraid he may never be leading during the promisland’s entry.

    For my collegues in previous or the following comments, let advise James Okuk and his boss to stop recycling names and get a new name to their brilliant party because China only has run out of names, but we have plenty.

    Lam Akol will never get a goverment portfolio again, unless it is a miracle which I doub happening to Lam Akol let’s wait and see as the next few months will tell more about Lam Akol.

    Reply
  • biarawieu
    biarawieu

    Dr Salva Kiir VS Dr Lam Akol
    there is nothing wrong with akol his decision to formed new party, since he already known to everybody in the south is unstable man, if i am not wrong by next year this guy will formed another party or join another party,

    Hi james, Akol his defection from south is 000% and never never affected anything to us, he is like dead body.

    Reply
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