Celebrating the Exemplary Life of the “Solid Rock” — Honourable Eliaba James Surur (1930-2014)
8 min readHonourable Eliaba James Surur – Biography And Political Career, 1930-2014
By LB Lokosang
Birth
Hon. Eliaba James Surur was born in Mongalla in the present day Juba County on 21st November 1930 to the Pojulu family of Solomon Loboka Surur of Yondoru Sub-chieftainship. At the age of nine, he went to live with his sister Esther Nyeri Loboka who was married to sub-Chief Ruben Logodok of the Ligi area of Wonduruba Chieftainship.
Education
In his early childhood, Hon. Eliaba James Surur enrolled at Yondoru Approval Village Primary School from 1944 to 1945, later moving to Yei Elementary School (1946 to 1947) and thereafter to Loka Intermediate School from 1948 to 1950. In 1950 he had a near-fatal car accident on Lirangu-Anzara road, where he broke both thighs, was hospitalized at Lirangu Hospital and recovered. This is how he got the nickname of “SOLID ROCK”. In 1951, Hon. Surur went to Rumbek Secondary School where he completed his studies in 1954.
Professional Work Career and Training
Hon. Eliaba Surur joined the teaching profession in 1955, but following the 18th August 1955 Torit Mutiny, all schools were closed down in Southern Sudan. From 1957 to 1958 he began teaching in Bahr el Ghazal Province and Atar Intermediate in Upper Nile Province. In 1958 he attended the Institute of Education at Bakht El Ruda in Ed Duweim in Northern Sudan, where he was awarded a Diploma in Education. He was also offered another course at Bishop Gywnne Theological College, where he attained a Certificate in the Teaching of Christian Religion in the same year.
In 1959 Hon. Eliaba Surur was appointed to teach at Juba Technical School. In 1960 he was transferred to Palotaka School (Old Okaru) and promoted to Deputy Headmaster. He was transferred to Lainya Technical School and promoted to Headmaster in 1964. While at Lainya (100 kilometers west of Juba) Hon. Surur visited Juba regularly.
Role in the First Liberation Struggle
In 1964 Hon. Eliaba James Surur narrowly escaped murder at the hands of the Arabs during the infamous Juba Massacre. The enemy attacked his residence but failed to identify him among his family members.
Besides teaching, he was involved in politics. It was not surprising then that, after the fall of General Ibrahim Abboud on 26 0ctober 1964, Hon. Surur was elected as chairperson of the Southern Front Yei River District Branch Office Branch. He left South Sudan after the Juba Massacre in 1964 and joined the ‘Anyanya 1’ Liberation Movement (SSLM/A) known as the South Sudan Liberation Movement/Army. He was appointed the Movement’s representative to Aba in the then Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo), where he was responsible for purchasing arms for the Movement.
Hon. Eliaba James Surur was appointed Information Officer in President Aggrey Jaden’s Office in the Southern Sudan Provisional Government (SSPG). In 1968 Hon. Surur was appointed as Commissioner of Central Equatoria Province stationed at Morta Headquarters under President Jaden’s SSPG.
In 1970 Hon. Surur was appointed Chief Education Officer (CEO) of the liberation movement under Colonel Joseph Lagu Yanga’s government of Anyanya. In 1971 he attended educational planning courses at Makerere and Dar El Salaam Universities.
In 1972, he returned to Southern Sudan after the Addis Ababa Peace agreement and became the Acting Director of Education in the Regional Ministry of Education under the then regional High Executive Council Government of Vice President Abel Alier. He was then appointed as first Deputy Director of Administration, Regional Ministry of Information, Culture Youth, Sports, Social Welfare, Wildlife conservation and Tourism; one of the largest Ministries in the Regional Government.
Political Life and Accomplishments
Hon. Eliaba Surur entered politics again in 1975 and contested one of the largest constituencies in Central Equatoria, comprising of part of Yei River, Mundri and Juba districts. He was elected as first member of Regional Assembly in Juba in December 1973. He held the post of Chairperson of the Specialized Committee for Information and Culture of the Assembly.
In 1986 Eliaba Surur contested for elections in the Southern Sudan under the ticket of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and won the elections, where he left for Khartoum to join the National Government. All the seven Sudan African Parties were operating in Khartoum fighting for the rights of the African Sudanese People.
Honourable Surur managed to win the favour of the seven African Parties namely, People Progressive’s Party (PPP), Sudan African National Party (SANU), Sudan African People’s Congress Organization (SAPCO), Sudan People Party (SPP), Sudan African Congress (SAC), Sudan Federal Party (SFP) and Sudan National Party (SNP), becoming the President heading the Union of Sudan Africa Parties (USAP) in the National Assembly in the Northern Islamic Front (NIF) Government in Khartoum.
In 1986 Eliaba Surur stood for the presidency of the Republic of Sudan against Prime Minister Sadiq El Mahdi; he lost and became opposition Leader in the Government leading the campaign for recognition of oppressed Black Africans in the Sudan. He held public rallies in the North calling for Equality, Freedom and Justice, where he became a target of the NIF government advocates for appointment of three governors of three southern regions of Bahr El Ghazel, Upper Nile and Equatoria, through USAP mandate in the National Assembly.
These were the words that Hon Eliaba uttered to the august House during his period as opposition leader in the National Assembly, after he was defeated in the Presidential race:
“We have now come to realize that the northern brothers have clearly come out to prove to the rest of the African race in the Sudan that they are moving northwards and the Southern Brothers in the Sudan move southwards”.
This statement was in line with that of our late hero, Dr. John Garang de Mabior, who said: “in the bush of Southern Sudan, I lead the liberation movement of the people Southern Sudan for their desired destination”. This destiny is what South Sudan celebrated on 9thJuly 2011.
Hon. Surur suffered several arrests and was tortured during his political career in the North. In 1994 he was tortured almost to death and released after sustaining an internal blood clot in the head. He was referred to Nairobi, Kenya for medical treatment.
While in Kenya on medical management, the then leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and Army (SPLM/A), Dr John Garang de Mabior, called for Honourable Eliaba Surur. The two leaders held a long discussion about the struggle.
Both Dr. Garang and Hon. Surur came together again at Narus in South Sudan, where Dr. Garang assured Hon. Surur of his commitment to bring USAP, which was fighting the liberation war inside the Government of Sudan, to join the SPLM/A, since both parties shared a common goal.
Eliaba James Surur agreed with the SPLM/A leadership’s call and was appointed as Chairman of the National Mobilization Commission for the three regions of Bahr El Ghazal, Upper Nile and Equatoria.
Soon after transferring from Nairobi to Kampala Uganda, Hon. Surur started the campaign in all refugee camps in Uganda and the bush of South Sudan. His main message was that South Sudanese in exile should come back and face the enemy, who was taking their land for good. The move rescued the SPLM/A from defeat and was followed by tremendous gains in the field, including the capture, within one week in March 1997, of towns all the way from the Sudan border, to Kaya, to mile 40 on the Yei–Juba road.
Honourable Surur also attended conferences on peace with the Sudan held in Asmara Eritrea, alongside the SPLM/A leadership in his capacity as Leader of the Union of African Parties (USAP). Soon after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed between the SPLM and the Government of Sudan under President Omar Hassan al-Beshir, Hon. Surur attended South-to-South Dialogue meetings held in Kenya to plan the implementation and running of the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS). He also initiated and advocated for the formation in 2003 of the Pojulu Community administrative centre at Kenyi Payam for promotion of SPLM/A activities in the Equatoria Region and South Sudan in general.
After the signing of the CPA, Honourable Surur returned to lead his party of USAP 2 and was appointed as Member of Parliament for the National Assembly following nomination by intellectuals from his County of Lainya. However, he only worked in Khartoum for few months and left for Juba to join the Southern Sudan legislative Assembly (SSLA) on a USAP 2 ticket.
When the first elections of April 2010 were conducted, Hon. Surur retired from politics and came down to unite his party with the SPLM ranks for the sake of the Referendum for self-determination of South Sudan, to work as one team, as he did during the Liberation war by mobilizing the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) forces to get what the South Sudanese desired. According to Hon. Surur, the merging of USAP 2 party with the SPLM was for the benefit of the South Sudanese people. In his words, “this is why all of us voted for total independence, which we enjoy today”.
Death:
Honourable Eliaba James Surur died aged 84, on 15 August 2014 in Kampala, Uganda, of kidney failure. Prior to his demise, Hon. Surur suffered a long spell of illness, which caused him to seek medical treatment in Nairobi and Kampala. His was predeceased by two wives, Monica Pita Surur, who passed away in 1983 and Julia Dudu Surur who he tragically lost on 15th December 2013. In addition, he was predeceased by two children, Philip, who passed away in 1978 and Beatrice Keji, who passed away in 1980. Hon. Surur is survived by two of the mothers of his children, Lucia Meling Joseph and Janty Awang and his living children: Hastings Lemi, Diana Jokudu, Johnson Lokioro, Peter Wani, Kiden, Emmanuel, Noel, Joseph, John Lobojo, Levi Nyoma, Vicky Misuk, Sheila Hope and David Latiu
The information shared in this obituary was provided by the deceased’s children and edited by LB Lokosang (lblokosang@gmail.com)
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