Self-proclaimed Lou-Nuer prophet declares his intention to work for peace
May 31, 2013 (JUBA) – A spiritual leader in the territory of Lou-Nuer community in Jonglei state said he would now work to promote peace and unity among the South Sudanese people after resisting the security forces for over one year wanting to fight the rival Murle community.
Dak Kueth, who claims to have been possessed by spiritual powers in 2011 managed to mobilize 13,000 armed Lou-Nuer youth and put them under the command of Bor Doang, a notorious youth leader, and directed them to bring the rival Murle community under control.
His youth said they were retaliating against attacks by armed Murle youth against their villages in which hundreds of people were reportedly killed in June 2011 by Murle attackers.
The Murle argued that they were also retaliating against similar past attacks carried out by the Lou-Nuer on their territories.
However, the December 2011 retaliation by the Lou-Nuer resulted to the capture of a number of Murle towns and villages, including their Linkuangole payam headquarter which caused a displacement of thousands from the Murle population.
The group also threatened to capture the county headquarter of Pibor, burnt some houses in the outskirts of the town, but did not enter its centre as the South Sudan army was ready to defend the town.
The two-week attack left unknown number of people dead, sometimes in thousands according to reports from Murle elders. Over one hundred thousand heads of cattle were reportedly driven back into Lou-Nuer territory by the youth.
Senior leaders of the national government had to personally intervene and flew to the captured town of Linkuangole in order to stop the angry Lou-Nuer youth from advancing into other Murle territories.
The youth criticized the government for not successfully controlling the Murle by disarming them and stopping their frequent raids against other neighbouring communities, thus taking the law into their own hands.
Dak Kueth’s field commander, Bor Doang, publicly revealed his intention to capture the whole Murle county of Pibor, impose his authority for a number of months until he forcefully disarm the Murle youth on behalf of the government.
A youth delegation from the area has however confirmed to the Vice-President, Riek Machar, that the self-proclaimed prophet has embraced peace after he recently surrendered himself to the government.
The Vice-president’s press secretary, James Gatdet Dak, who attended the meeting, told the Sudan Tribune that the leadership of Uror Youth Association (UYA) under the chairmanship of Mach Yak, on Thursday briefed the Vice-president on the positive developments initiated by the spiritual leader in the area.
The delegation who paid a visit to Dak Kueth recently, said they were impressed by his stance as he was discouraging youth from drinking alcohol or raiding other communities including the Murle.
Currently the South Sudan army is trying to neutralize a rebellion which has developed in Pibor county under the command of a theologian student, David Yau Yau.
The military operation was prompted by a new wave of attacks carried out by the heavily armed rebelled Murle youth against the Lou-Nuer civilians, massacring over a hundred mostly women and children, in Walgak area of Akobo county in February this year.
The rebel leader has been recruiting and arming the Murle youth in defiance of the disarmament exercise by the government and continuing to raid other communities and lay ambushes to the security forces.
In recent weeks the rebel group managed to capture the historical town of Boma within the county but was recaptured by the government’s forces.
(ST)