The War of personal interest in South Sudan

By Malith Kur

May 14, 2010 — The event at Dolleb Hill near Malakal on April 30, 2010 following the elections in many parts of Sudan has shown to us that the war of personal interest within the political elite in South Sudan is a major threat to our match to freedom. It has also shown to us that some political aspirants in South Sudan have little or no political maturity. They contested the elections looking for opportunities to build their personal power base instead of contesting the elections to serve the people. In this regard, some one like Mr. Athor should be made aware of his political future in the light of his insane rebellion against the people of South Sudan in Jonglei.

We have seen and tasted the effects of war for more than two decades. The war that we fought for those years had killed millions of our fellow South Sudanese not only in the battlefields but also through disease, hunger, and famine. We fought it because we were forced to fight for our own survival as a people. However, one will not imagine the wisdom of a South Sudanese taking up arms against his own people at this crucial time in our history because he has lost the election. Those who have shed the blood of their brothers at Dolleb Hill near Malakal on April 30, 2010 deserve no sympathy regardless of the motives that led them to attack the SPLA position. It is an act if first degree betrayal. Those 15 or more lives lost in that attack are more valuable to us than a single politician. It is a gap in our defence system which will not be easy to close.
As we have seen in the last few days, it is clear to most of us that Mr. Athor is ready to fight the war of personal interest against the people of South Sudan. He doesn’t care about the consequences or the effects that will face the people of South Sudan and the people of Jonglei in particular. His priority is to attain the position of the Governor of Jonglei through violence. But one may point out here that the people of Jonglei have exercised their wisdom in rejecting Mr. Athor. It would have been a disaster to elect such a fragile, unstable person as a governor at this trying time. Thanks to the mature judgment the people of Jonglei have made in the election.

Furthermore, Athor must know that the citizens of Jonglei are the ones who have the right to elect as governor the one they trust. In addition, any citizen of Jonglei who is 18 and above has the right to run for that position if he/she wants to. But, no one has the right to fight when he/she loses the election. We do not trust you as our governor and so you have lost the election. At this time we want to know whether you are fighting the SPLA in order to force the rerun of the election or to overthrow the governor of Jonglei State by force. Whatever you are thinking, you should be informed that none of your plans is going to work. The state election in Jonglei cannot be rerun on the bases of intimidation and killing of innocent people. The election can be rerun only when there is a legitimate challenge to the election results. Mr. Athor therefore has to produce concrete evidence before the court of that the election in Jonglei was rigged in favour of the Governor elect. But without such evidence we cannot accept nonsense at this stage.

Moreover, in the light of the attack at Dolleb Hill near Malakal, talk about the political accommodation of Mr. Athor in Jonglei or in the Government of South Sudan should be avoided. Athor has already proven to us that he is a criminal who cannot lead people in a safe political direction. Any one who has shown a commitment to kill people when he/she loses an election must be barred from holding or running for political office. Athor has already fallen into the category of violent criminals. And any political accommodation without consequences would send wrong signals to others that it is possible to lose an election, rebelled against the will of the people, and then gain political accommodation. We need to maintain peace but with accountability. If criminal behaviours are condoned to avoid troubles, all those reckless minds will see it as weakness on the part of the Government of South Sudan to punish criminals. Therefore all criminal acts aim at disturbing peace should be dealt with according to the rule of law.

On the other hand, we hope that the SPLM and other political forces in South Sudan have learnt, during the April 2010 elections, a lesson in the selection of candidates to run for political office in South Sudan. It is important that future conduct of election must be transparent and credible to avoid the abuse of the procedures of the fair electoral process. This can be achieved through an independent electoral body that has no political affiliation. The nomination of candidates must be left to the local population to select those they want to represent them in federal and regional parliaments. Those who lose the selection at the community level will not blame anyone but their own political programmes.

Looking beyond the political events in Jonglei, one cannot fail to see political maturity demonstrated by other independent candidates who contested and lost the election. Alfred Lado Gore in Central Equatoria, for example, has shown himself to be a mature politician despite the fact that he might have lost the election unfairly. But instead of resorting to violence, he has chosen peaceful rejection of the election results to assure the people of Central Equatoria that peace in South Sudan, at this time, is more important than one’s political gains. Mr. Gore and other politicians, with the exception of Mr. Athor, who contested independently but lost the election in some doubtful ways, should maintain their personal integrity. This is not the end of the world but more chances are around the corner where they will prove that they have the support of the people. However resorting to violence will diminish any political sympathy toward those who might have lost the election in unfair way. What we need more than anything at this time is unity among our people. We must stand as one people in the face of the challenges facing our match to freedom.

The author is based in London Ontario. He can be reached at
[email protected]