The body of late hero Samson Kwaje is laid to rest

By James Gatdet Dak

August 6, 2010 (JUBA) — The body of late Samson Kwaje Lukare was laid to rest on Friday in the headquarters of his home county, Lanya, 63 miles away from the capital, Juba.

A high level government delegation led by the Vice President of the Government of Southern Sudan, Riek Machar Teny, traveled to Lanya and attended the burial ceremony. Central Equatoria and Upper Nile states also sent their representatives to the county to witness the event.

Addressing the mourners, Vice President Riek Machar said the late was a hero and colleague in the government as well as in the liberation struggle. If the decision for his burial was left to the government to decide, he said, Kwaje would have been buried in Juba in the same way the late hero John Garang was buried in the capital.

Machar appealed to the Pojulu community to reconcile their differences, urging them to use the death of Kwaje as a sign for unity and peace in the County.

He also said the note on the cause of his death which was read out earlier on from the doctor who treated him in Nairobi should clear any doubts in the minds of people who were not sure about the cause of his untimely death. According to the doctor, the main cause of his death was swelling from his left lower limb leading to some other complications.

The Vice President on behalf of the President of the Government of Southern Sudan directed that priority will be given to Lanya County to build a hospital in the area in memory of Samson Kwaje, in the implementation of the current government’s plan to establish a hospital in each of the Southern Sudan’s counties.

He also said the old county’s secondary school would be renovated by his government and treated as a national school.

Machar also said a Mausoleum will be constructed for Kwaje in the county headquarters which will also include a library.

He also informed the mourners that the Council of Ministers of the Government of Southern Sudan had already resolved to support the family of the late.

Born in 1940s, late Kwaje obtained his Masters Degree in 1974 and PhD in late 1970s, both from universities in the United States of America.

Before joining the movement in 1990s, the late held a ministerial position in the then regional government based in Juba in 1980s.

From 1995 to 2004, he was put in charge of information desk in the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army and became its official spokesperson. He also played a great role during the Naivasha peace talks with the then Government of Sudan which led to the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

In 2005 during the formation of the Government of Southern Sudan, Kwaje was appointed the first minister of Information and Broadcasting. However in 2008 he was switched to the ministry of Agriculture and Forestry during a reshuffle. He had been holding the post even after the elections when the government was formed. Kwaje was the head of the presidential campaign team for the SPLM Chairperson and current President, Gen. Kiir.

He died at 2:55AM on the early morning of Sunday, August 1, 2010, in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. Late Kwaje has two wives and is survived by seven children.

ST