Who will set my people free?
By Clement Maring Samuel
Who will set my people free was a lamentation of a divine choir which was shown to me in a dream on May 17th 2003 in Tali during the liberation struggle. I share this excerpt from my book to convey a message in this particular time but the full text shall be read when my book is published.
In that dream, the divine choir wears maroon gowns, and they stood in the exact ground where the grave of late John Garang is and sang a song: “O my people!” “O, my people! Who will set my people free?”. John Garang died two years after my dream and he was buried in the same place where the choir stood to sing the lamentation song which justifies the dream to be prophetic. Since the dream was prophetic, the choir which sang the song was divine. They predicted the future of South Sudan that after the liberator who has the heart for the people has gone, the people of South Sudan will be ruled mercilessly by another Pharaoh who will inflict dire suffering on them.
When Garang died in 2005, and his body was flown to Rumbek, I was among the delegates selected in my County to attend his burial in Juba. We the delegates of Terekeka County were taken from Tali to join the delegation of Mundri County in Mundri airstrip to wait for a plane from Rumbek to airlift us to Yei so that we will join the team and travel to Juba for burial John Garang. Our delegation of Terekeka County was headed by Alternate Commander Wani Nyambur Boughta, who was the SPLM County Secretary (Commissioner) and the delegates of Mundri County were headed by Yasmin Samuel who was the SRRC Secretary.
As we waited for a plane in Mundri airstrip, an unknown voice intercepted the coordination of our Radio operator with the head office in Rumbek, the voice challenged us that: “you, you, you South Sudanese, where is John Garang?” “Where is John Garang?” “John Garang is in the fire” John Garang is in fire and you will all be in the fire”. The voice was foreign from our neighbouring country which conveys a message to us that South Sudanese will suffer direly after John Garang. Both the unknown voice and the divine choir lamented in search of a good leader to set the people free? Today the country is mourning for a good leader who will set her people free. Who is that leader?-is a question in quandary. The person who will set the people of South Sudan free will come by divine appointment. This will happen in three ways, either: through internationally monitored transparent elections; or through civil disobedience like what the Red Card Movement is trying to do; or through the divine intervention. The chance of winning elections will be very slim because SPLM will rig the elections to keep their leader to torture people. The second option will likely succeed, if it is understood by all people of South Sudan, and should not be left to the youths alone. The third option will marginally succeed if God sees the president mistreating his people like slaves. All these options can take a ruthless leader away from leadership. In Africa Revolutionary leaders don’t leave power peacefully, they leave power violently. It was only Nelson Mandela who has demonstrated civility in leadership, but the rest need either Mass Revolution or Divine intervention.
The history of South Sudan to replace a leader was registered through mysterious circumstance. The Anyanya one leader Saturnino Lohure was gunned down in a plane, and God transferred the power from him to his Secretary Joseph Lagu. In the same manner, John Garang, the leader of SPLM/A died mysteriously, and God transferred the mantle of leadership from John Garang to Salva Kiir, but he refused to learn a lesson from the mystery. He uses the power given to him by God as his own property while disregarding the history of how he got it. He led the country using his tribe as a means to dominate others on the perception that his tribe is the majority in the country, and he uses war as a ticket to keep him in power, and the regional and international community approves him to torture his own people and the country is bleeding and retarded to moral degradation. His hands are tainted with the blood of people who despicably continue to suffer under his cruel hands. The glory of God has gone far away from him. He looks in the eyes of South Sudanese like King Saul in 1 Samuel 16:13-14; who imposes himself upon the Israelites when he was not wanted by the Israelites.
God is looking for a leader in South Sudan who will set the people free. He knows who that leader is, and he knows when and how to transfer the power from Salva Kiir to the next leader who will set the people free. He is not looking at how mighty the person is or how big his tribe is, or how many degrees the he has, but God is looking for a leader among South Sudanese whose heart is like the heart of King David. That leader will rule the country with righteousness and truth. He will not usurp the power given to him by God to boast about his tribe, but he will take the honour bestowed upon him to serve the people of South Sudan fairly and free them from confusion, tyranny, killing, rape, looting and robbery, land grabbing, extortion, corruption, greed, nepotism, prejudice, division and hate, tribalism, lack of vision and maladministration. That will be the leader worthy of following.
The author can be reached at Email: [email protected]