Dau Aturjong: A Veteran Turned Silly.
7 min readBy MonyDit Waa
At wee hours of 31th of May, the once darling patriot, a man who once defended our territories with no absolute arms for his soldiers made a disastrous move to rebel against the system of General Kiir Wat Mayardit, a man he defended in thick and thin during his deployment first as an area commander in 1990s in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, second as a useful commander with rapid deployment to put off the insurgencies in and around Equatoria staged by Riek Machar in his 1991’s revolt against the system.
Gen. Dau, many fair-minded people would agree with you that President Kiir’s government has been on the bullying spree against those who once liberated this country. Your very own colleagues in the government formation since 2005 have had the honour of picking who will serve where and why neglecting the very basic reasons you, among others took up arms to fight against the Arab regimes in the north. We know this, and the world too, knows it.
But General, how intelligent is joining Riek Machar who once been the vice president of this country for nine good years where powers of appointment and strategizing were solely made under his office? Did I hear you saying Riek will bring equality, justice and democracy where your Aweil people will not ever be marginalised in preference of the people of other states? Is this Riek you were referring or was it just a “rebellion gimmick” we’re hearing so often these days?
Before you left for the bush possibly in Akobo, Nasir or even in the poor villages of Aweil to fight for Riek’s presidency, allow me educate you who Riek was to Aweil people: Your future president has contributed to Aweil’s marginalisation. Do you know this? Let’s face it. Riek Machar, for nine years, has used your fellow Aweil Gen. as his junior without promotion, a mere office manager to be precise!
Deng Deng Akon, a man with long track record of defending this country first as your comrade in arms who joined the SPLA since its inception the same day as you and grew in the ranks and files as its Brigadier General. As his axillary assistant in the zonal command of western Upper Nile State in 1980s, he rebelled with him since Aweil people would not led down a genuine friendship. They went to Khartoum together where he became Riek’s Private Secretary, a general becoming a private secretary to his junior. Yes, Riek prior to his joining the SPLA in 1984, after his failure to garner support from Muhammer Ghadhafi to back his Sudan’s Revolutionary Congress, alongside his London friends, among whom are our very own Marial Benjamin, the boy handling the diplomatic docket for South Sudan, was just a student of reservoir engineering, a course which later turned out to be an industrial management which is done by the low IQ and a non-mathematical inclined engineers while Deng Deng Akoon was already a field officer in the SPLA.
Riek, after the failed Khartoum Peace Agreement, proposed a five persons to be appointed ministers in the government of Bashir. This list didn’t include any single Aweil person. As he always does, he came to meet Aweil community in Nyala, western Sudan on the 10th of June 1997 where he told them the half-barked truth— and that truth was his perceived temporary marriage with the regime of president Bashir, comparing it with Malual Both-Ayaar’s traditional dance where dancers use one foot as they balance themselves on the other springlingly to the amusement of the onlookers. Meaning, he was on the trial mission, and he would therefore calls it a quit should the Islamist regime reneges to implement his dubious and audacious recommendations prior to the signing of Khartoum Peace Agreement. This took him couple of years before he solely left with a briefcase to Nairobi as he sought to make a prodigal comeback, a biblical lost child of the SPLM he became!
Fast forward to the comprehensive peace agreement where he became the vice president, he made huge appointment where he double-facedly became the Minister of housing in addition to his vice presidential role. His second or third wife, I don’t know, became a minister too. Your friend, Deng Deng Akon, became the office manager (I don’t give a sh*t of the name given to the position he was holding) which was indeed an insult to him, given the fact that he was a Brigadier General in the SPLA and a senior to Riek by the virtue of earlier joining of the movement, and a member of Shield one division, though Riek was quickly passed over by Dr John in Ranks and assigned under the pretext of being a PhD comrade. Garang became the first victim of this PhD’s syndrome!
In the drama that ensued when mile 14 was intentionally put among the contested areas without the knowledge of Aweil community, Dr. Dhieu Mathok Diing, another man who I believe might have been the driving force behind your unwise defection to Riek’s tribal militia today, willingly wrote to the vice president’s office about the facts surrounding Mile 14, or as locally called, Kiir Adem, a topic he actually wrote his doctorate thesis, which underscored the relic coexistence of Rezigate and Dinka Malual dated back to the advent of British colonizers into Sudan two centuries ago.
Despite being smuggled into the office by the Wife of Riek, he was humiliatingly thrown out by Riek in his office. A man who was part of the government to which Riek was the co-chair, an intellectual in his own right and an experienced politician. After this dramatic and disgraceful event, Riek mentioned to those present that Aweil people think in their eyes. Adding that he didn’t have anything to do with Mile 14 yet he was a vice president.
This is Riek Machar Teny you’re now coercing our young ones to fight for his presidency today. So, Gen. Aweil people think through their eyes, Fair! Right?
To quote what you said as a package of your rebellion, “Metaphorizing it with an oak tree which doesn’t stand alone when budding, but penetrates on the independent tree as it propagates its branches which later engulfs the whole tree”. I guess you might have missed the fact or those who are cajoling with you are misinterpreting the actualities in desperate attempt to bring down the government by joining someone whose priority is to cleanse tribes in this revenge conflict.
When you and your friends left Aweil for Ethiopia in 1983, you had no guns, no food no nothing, but managed to fight enemies along the way till you reach Ethiopia. You fought the well-armed Nuer Militias with sticks and some outdated rifles and emerged victorious. When you came to Aweil too in early 1990s, you fought Murahileen with few AK 47. You turned the household taxes to buy more uniform for the soldiers and weaponry and even cars that were later used in the military operations. You fought the successful wars in places such as Riangawei, Rumdier, Malith-alek-yai, Wathok, Auluic and many other places with local support. Aweil had never been penetrated by the enemy at the broad day light. Aweil has never been rounded-up while men clothed themselves in women’s wears. We never had Nuer or Riek Machar coming for our defence, never!.
Now for you to join force with Riek Machar who has hugely contributed to Aweil’s marginalization during his time as vice president is somewhat a betrayal to Aweil people not to the regime you sullenly wanting to overthrow expediently.
As you make your final strategy to invade Aweil villages and kill the remaining patriots there, know that Aweil is not denying your rebellion or your mistreatment by President Kiir. Aweil would have loved if you had stood independent and fight your own war against this corrupt government. It’s not difficult to overthrow this government even if Aweil people take up sticks and machetes and confront it head-on. It’s the strategy that majority would have loved you pursuing not joining forces with Riek and his tribal militias.
If you don’t reconsider your alliance with Riek, Aweil people will never ever vow down or giving you sanctuary in our territory should you come with White army or Massiriya as its alleged now to invade our poor villages. Yes, under the SPLM-led government, bullets speak louder than ballots, but know that this won’t be the business as usual.
Aweil stood to defend its territory against Arab north and it will, this time, stand against White Army under your command, as you fight to install another enemy to Aweil people just like this current president you’re overthrowing.
MonyDit Waa is a native of Mading-Cit-Amerika, a member of the renowned Cattle Camp Council for Elders, CCCL/3CL and an emeritus professor for cattle rustling affairs. He lives in MadingCielic!
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