Bloody tribal clashes and assassination attempts in Southern Sudan

By Jacob K. Lupai

November 30, 2009 — Bloody tribal clashes have become a common occurrence in Southern Sudan that they do not seem to make people raise their eye brows anymore. People are used to the news of tribal clashes that reporting such news seems to be never exciting. However, people are horrified with statistics on deaths. For example, in the media deaths are sometimes reported in the hundreds. One may wonder why the senseless murder of fellow southerners while there is still a steep uphill climb in the implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) of 2005 that ended another bloody civil war in Sudan. What is the ulterior motive for the bloody tribal clashes? One may only speculate.

According to the news media cattle rustling is the main cause of tribal clashes in Southern Sudan and the subsequent revenge attacks aggravate the situation. A cattle rustling is one characteristic of pastoralists. It is therefore no wonder that there are bloody tribal clashes among the pastoralists. Other tribes also become victims when the pastoralists have an envious eye on their cattle. Politics may also cause tribal clashes. For example, bloody tribal clashes between the Dinka and the Shilluk in Upper Nile State are politically motivated.

Solutions have been suggested to curb bloody tribal clashes as a way of promoting security in Southern Sudan. One such solution is the order of the President of the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) to all the Governors of the States and the Commands of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) to disarm the civilian population to restore peace and security. In a conference in May 2009 in Bentiu, Unity State, of kings, chiefs and traditional leaders in Southern Sudan, the conference urged the President, the State Governors and SPLA Command to ensure that the orders for disarmament were implemented accordingly and that drastic measures should be taken against anyone or group resisting disarmament. It was clear that anyone that did not cooperate in the disarmament process would face the full force of the SPLA. However, we still experience bloody rampant tribal clashes as recently as November 2009, six months after the resolution in Bentiu. The proxy war waged by enemies of the CPA is real comparative to the protracted bloody tribal clashes in Southern Sudan.

One other twist in security in Southern Sudan came when a daring assassination attempt was made on the life of the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of the GOSS. The Minister was in Wonduruba Payam, some 81 miles west of Juba, which is contested between Juba and Lainya County. He was paying a visit to monitor the progress of voter registration in the area. However, all of a sudden the Minister’s motorcade fell into a horrifying ambush by gunmen laying in wait. It seems it was a deliberate attempt to assassinate the Minister as more that twenty bullets rained down on his car. It was a miracle that the Minister barely escaped with his life with a bullet only through the flesh of his upper right arm. After being evacuated and at Juba International Airport the Minister walked unaided and was able to give a press conference on his ordeal. His arm was in a sling. It was a brave performance by the Minister after the trauma of the previous day and night while soaked in rain in the bushes of Wonduruba and uncertain of survival. In a briefing by members of the community who had accompanied the Minister to Wonduruba, it was confirmed that indeed it was a deliberate assassination attempt on the life of the Minister. The suspects are now in custody and hopefully will face the full force of the law as a deterrent to similar unwarranted assassination attempts.

The question to ask is what should have strongly motivated such an outrageous criminal act so as to take somebody’s life with impunity? Unlike pastoralists the people of Wonduruba are peaceful sedentary cultivators. In case of some doubt the motive of the attempted assassination of the Minister was mostly political but not ruling out personal vendetta against the Minister. Wonduruba Payam is populated by the Pojulu ethnic group. It is worth mentioning that the Pojulu ethnic group is also found in Lainya, Kenyi, Mukaya, Wuji and Kupera payams. When Sudan got its independence on the 1st January 1956 Wonduruba had belonged to the former Juba District which is now known as Juba County. The other Pojulu ethnic group had belonged to the former Yei District. However, with a reformed administrative setup of Southern Sudan, in Central Equatoria State there are six counties namely Juba, Lainya, Yei, Morobo, Kajo Keji and Terekeka. The Pojulu are in two counties of Juba and Lainya. The Pojulu in Wonduruba who had belonged to Juba District are now divided between two opinions either to remain in Juba County or to join their other Pojulu bothers and sisters in Lainya County.

The division between for and against Lainya is the crux of the matter. The problem is the unfortunate use of violence which only serves the interest of enemies of the CPA. The people of Wonduruba should be left alone to decide their destiny with less outside interference. If the majority of people choose to remain in Juba County they should enjoy the full support of all. On the other hand if the majority of people of Wonduruba opt to join Lainya County violence by a hardcore minority should not be allowed under any circumstances. The rule of law should apply with full force. It is now a challenge to the intellectuals of Wonduruba and indeed to all Pojulu intellectuals to come up with a resolution for a peaceful co-existence of the people of Wonduruba. As a Pojulu I was ashamed of what had happened in Wonduruba that fateful day and night in which innocent lives were unnecessarily lost. Equatoria is a land of confident people who have co-existed in peace since time immemorial. It is therefore unacceptable that the people of Equatoria should be involved in mindless bloody tribal clashes and assassination attempts that are never in their best interest as a people with a lot in common.

Central Equatoria and indeed Greater Equatoria should be the last in Southern Sudan to have inter and intra bloody tribal clashes, and assassination attempts. Equatorians who pride themselves as intellectuals and confident sedentary peace loving people should not emulate the culture of violence experienced in the other areas except in self-defense. Inter and intra bloody tribal clashes should be happening in distant lands where the people there may be too primitive to be civilised and who behave like savages in the wild. It is hoped that Equatorians will rise up to the challenge of being leaders and exemplary in the art of peaceful co-existence so that others may follow in building a strong united Southern Sudan that is at peace with itself and development oriented for a better and prosperous future for all its citizens. It is very important to understand and be aware that the bloody tribal clashes and assassination attempts in Southern Sudan are only in the best interest of the enemies of the CPA with the sole purpose of dragging us down to anarchy with the hope of destroying our sense of nationhood. Good bless Southern Sudan!

The Author is a regular contributor to Southern Eye and can be reached at [email protected]