Defiance of law: A case for tribal clashes

By Mabior Philip

August 14, 2009 — As the seventh Governors’ Forum concluded yesterday here in Juba, there are probably higher expectations of bringing impact on the insecurity situation, especially tribal clashes in Southern Sudan. But one is made to decline, given that this is not the first Governors’ Forum, and though resolutions are passed on, criminals of any form evicted are not brought to the due process of law.

I will ignore – but not to neglect – many issues I am knowledgeable of, and only confine my self to the current abduction and ultimate untimely death of innocent civilians due to tribal fighting especially in Jonglei and Central Equatoria states.

It is worthnoting that in May this year, some gun men were arrested abducting children in Gumbo, a suburb in Juba. The Bari children, while for recreation in one of the water points came under non-imaginary abduction process in broad day light, only to be rescued by members of Wild Life, police Service and Military Police.

Fortunately, these gun men were captured and dispatched to military police, from where they were then referred to Juba Training Hospital to nurse injuries sustained in the due process. The gun men were identified to be from Murle of Pibor, who were also with in the ranks and files of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army. While the other two ranked one and two stars in the army and police, the third was a plain soldier in the army. I personally visited them in Juba Training Hospital.

Having not only abused ‘rights for the child’ according to Human Rights Act, they have also portrayed that the army supposedly to defend Southern Sudanese is slavishly indulged in perpetrating terror and human rights abuse. This is unacceptably tarnishing the SPLA!

Therefore, one could only expect that, by hook or crook, they could be brought to face the law, and serve as an example to other soldiers who may be tempted to carry out abduction or abuses of any sort. But to my dismay, and probably to all Southern Sudanese, the Criminals were ordered for by the Criminal Investigation Department, which closed access of information of all sorts, making them go with out facing the due process of law.

So, why should criminals, even with in the army tasked with protecting civilians, be made to go free on the streets, unaccountable for all deaths they instigated? And how can’t we expect Murle to re-form another militia to terrorize civilians, if men even from the police who are to maintain law and order, are permitted to abuse human rights at will?

The latest incidence in Jonglei, in which about 185 people died, is the second heaviest clash sustained after losing about 753 in reprisal attacks in February between Murle and Lou- Nuer. But if the Murle, including soldiers in the SPLA and police units could abduct, be arrested, and still move away decently, there is no way they could not be expected to kill and go free. And indeed, this is what they are doing.

On many occasions, in to which I may not delve so much, criminals are not apprehended and brought to justice. Mabior Leek, a member of Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly, said in the assembly that Ismail Kony, now the GoSS presidential advisor for peace, while he was the governor of Jonglei recovered some abducted children from Pibor, but he did not apprehend the culprits.. This year, the Vice President he said, recovered six children from Pibor, and like Ismail did, no culprit was apprehended.

By the way, it will be so naïve to believe that, these culprits were undistinguished from the rest of the population, because the person from whom these children were got by procedure has to account for the course these children took to his house for his care. The chiefs also have to be made to account for abductors once abductees are found with in their villages.

In Greater Bor, children are abducted day by day. People die silently here and there in the villages, especially Kolnyang which is near to their bases. This is not taken as a concern, but can’t they be expected to reprise? This is the situation we the Southern Sudanese are in!

If lawyers are being constrained, stumbled, and/or not cooperated with in the process of executing laws, through intervention of irrelevant institutions, we shall see our way towards Somalia soon. For this matter, I will console Dr. Anne Itto, who said in the Legislative Assembly last week the Southern Sudanese will disapprove the saying of heading towards Somalia. We may not disapprove anything under these current impediments of law, though we will always strutly deject that South Sudan is becoming a “failed state”.

Not to bore you much, Jonglei state Governor was himself not at Pibor, a county in his own state, when the vice president visited and recovered children from Equatoria, leaving those from other counties in Jonglei, more especially Bor, Duk and Twich East. Keep close this penetration of the state with out prior information and ultimate preparation of the Governor, for it is not the purpose of this article. The governor is trying with all resources at his disposal to maintain security. But with this divergence from the administrators of the region, it is conceptually contradictory for the forum of Governors to discuss security issues with the presidency, law makers and development partners when these two sides are themselves not able to co-operate in the due process of implementation.

The writter is a Southern Sudnanese based in Juba. He can be reached at [email protected].