The Resurgence of the South Sudanese Students’ Association in Kenya (SSSAK)
8 min readLong, tedious Journey of Resurgence of the South Sudanese Students’ Association in Kenya (SSSAK) finally bore fruits
By Peter Ngor Atem, Nairobi, Kenya
July 18, 2015 (SSB) —– First and utmost, I intend to take this opportune time to open the minds of the unaware readers of the subject matter. South Sudanese students’ Association in Kenya (SSSAK) is an amalgam of all University-based and College-based South Sudanese students’ unions across Kenya. It is a Mother Union which sees into, submits to higher authorities, all issues regarding South Sudanese students pursuing their higher education in Kenyan Universities and Colleges. Its organizational operations and offices are headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. It does its elections regularly on annual basis. Without much ado, that’s what it is.
Notwithstanding the regularity of conducting elections, the process became sluggish at best and nightmarish at worst in the heart of the 2013. The continuity of electoral exercise was rudely cut short by the Unidentified Foreign Agents (UFAs). Numerous electoral commissions were formed to superintend the electoral processes but they later on got frustrated and ended in tatters. No election was ever done.
But around and about September of the same year, the Electoral Commission was formed and the deliberations on budgetary allocation to effectuate the operations were underway. The electoral commission was practically warming up for elections come December of the same year.
On the 15th day of December of the same year, the quest to have the elections done became a wet dream due to the politically instigated civil war that engulfed and still engulfing the whole country and thereby bloated its social fabric.
This abrupt development opened the Pandora’s box of differences among South Sudanese people on ethnic lines. The spirit of peaceful coexistence was edged off the track and the historical ethnic animosities and mistrust took the center stage particularly among students in Kenya. Generally, the bad blood was created and therefore convening any students’ meetings was tantamount to supervising a tug of war between two furious groups. The tribal lenses donned during that time substantially crippled the smooth running of the organization and it was essentially reduced to a non-barking underdog. The glimpse of light that was glowing became doomed and students ended up in a darkroom.
The students had nothing else other than going back to the drawing board. They geared their energies towards establishing the big elephant, which was in the SSSAK’s room long before the eruption of the senseless war. They continuously tried to unearth the true identities of these so-called UFAs and by extension the intention of killing a noble students’ body.
They became obese and obsessed with profound inquisitions. It would be logical to assume that the students were fast-forwarding the 2014 of dead SSSAK with the following questions.
Did SSSAK biologically die or was it forced to temporal death by the internal players to conceal their underhand dealings? Was SSSAK arm-twisted to death by lords of corruption and impunity who wanted to milk it to its deathbed?
In the nutshell, who killed SSSAK, how and why? Was it used as a scapegoat by people who tended to settle their political scores?
Nobody including the Old Monks in the outgoing Executive could best answer the aforementioned questions? But the outspoken and supposedly ‘liberal’ students share their guesses when doing normal chitchats. To them, it is a funny pun to play with. They advanced different schools of thought with regard to the architects and the cause of stagnation
Firstly, many students blame the 2-year inaction on the administrative standstill between the Executive organ and the Council of the outgoing SSSAK leadership. Cognizant of the fact that the working chemistry between the outgoing Executive and Council was unnavigable, mechanically, it might have climaxed into the material impossibility to transact businesses expected of an organization of SSSAK’s caliber. Holding meetings might have been rendered a farcical mime during a 2-Year time span courtesy of administrative gridlock.
Secondly, some other students point their shape fingers to the Embassy accusing it of jumping the gun and poking its nose in the students’ affairs. They say that the Embassy hasn’t stood its third party ground. Against the normal practice, it has become an interested belligerent party in the affairs of the students in Kenya.
Thirdly, some, without mincing words, blatantly assert that SSSAK was inadvertently trampled upon when the Executive organ fractured into two factions after they disagreed over the looting spree. Eti, a sustained intra-war between looters and anti-looters consequently begot the imminent suffocation of the SSSAK. Concisely, their insinuation can be equated to the grass, which innocently gets hurt when the two formidable bulls fight it out. All in all, the above stated expositions and suppositions were tended to unravel the mysteries that transpired behind the closed door of SSSAK.
The 2-Year redundancy of the entire SSSAK leadership necessitated the unilateral formation of a Pressure Group dubbed the ‘Interim Group’. The preeminent duty, among others, of this group was to exert intense pressure on the outgoing Executive to do the elections as expeditiously as possible. Nearly all the students became apologists of this magnificent move!
But due to human tendency of usurpation of power, it was as well drawn to the center stage of power contestation. Alive to the reality that the then standing SSSAK’s Executive had outlived its mandate and usefulness, they brought another twisted dimension in the SSSAK political power play. That is, they installed and blessed themselves as a ‘legitimate’ team. This development added more salt to the SSSAK’s open wound and the turn and twist became difficult to unbundle.
Things literally moved from bad to worst as the war of outfoxing each other and claiming legitimacy intensified. When one group runs to Media House A, the other group runs to Media House B to deflect the legitimacy point being scored. And the same hustling-bustling replicated itself in print media and offices of the corresponding authorities.
The Interim Group members resoundingly propagated the nakedness of the king little did they know that they were also as naked in the eyes of the students as the king himself.
By and by, as a sigh of relief, the three bodies-the Executive, the Council, the Interim Group aka Pressure Group- were visited by unparalleled wisdom. They finally ceded their hard lined positions at the altar of rekindling the lost peace and unity of the students in Kenya in total disregard to unnecessary ultimatums. This agreement was colorfully sealed in the Embassy’s premises before H.E Amb. Mariano Deng Ngor and others. The three gentlemen: Mr. Chol Yaak-Chair of the outgoing executive, Mr. Dak Gabriel-Chair of Interim Group, Mr. Molana Tap Gatdiet-speaker of the outgoing Council, unanimously agreed that it was a high time the collective interest of the students prevail over their personal interests. They undeniably set the bar high. Indeed, they showed the importance of compromising at some stages of decision-making.
In light of the above ‘papal white smoke’, the robust Electoral Commission was swiftly constituted, financially pumped and flagged off to perform on its obligations. In return, the Aliandro Lotok-led Commission religiously took its mandate of midwifing students’ elections. The speed was actually neck breaking given the fact that the process was already overtaken by time as well as impatience exuded by students.
The furiously industrious electoral commissioners worked overtime so as to beat the deadline they had set before the attentive Council Meeting. They did not betray the confidence bestowed upon them by the students’ fraternity.
The Commission unprecedentedly started off with rigorous collection of data from all accredited universities and colleges to avoid infiltration of the system and irregularities from the would-be self-proclaimed students of non-existing institutions. The exercise was subsequently given a clean bill of health by the able councilors upon its completion.
Duly guided by the SSSAK’s Constitutional provisions and the general principles of transparency, credibility, fairness, freeness, peacefulness, the electoral commission conducted the most exceptional election in the history of humanity where almost all the requirements of a good election were met. Though there were few human errors due to human imperfection, it was still applauded as one of its kind ever witnessed under the sun! This development shocked few prophets of doom who expected a lot of mess. I hope they’ve recovered from the rude shock!
For starters, the entire process was undertaken in full glare of and/or beyond the noses of South Sudanese drawn from all walks of life: the students, the diplomats from South Sudan Mission to Kenya, the members of Clergy, the community elders, the time killers, the old and the youngest cetera.
The new and fresh leadership was duly brought to force by the legitimate student voters who were delegated from all universities and colleges in Kenya. Therefore, the quality of leaders who took up the leadership is dependent upon the resounding voice made by the voters: elevating them to positions of authority.
Most importantly, the upstanding ovation when announcing results; the sincere concessional speeches delivered by those who did not make it; the congratulatory notes wired to the Electoral Commissioners did not only cogently affirm the credibility of the electoral process, but it also showed the embedded political maturity and the spirit of sportsmanship: coming into terms with a loss or a victory in any competition.
It manifestly shows we, the South Sudanese students, will change a thing or two when our time to eat comes. The best foreseeable moment is when the South Sudanese leaders will morph and open the new chapter of total tranquility and calm after the electoral dust has settled. A moment when the leaders will plummet, or inconceivably, eradicate the post-election rebellion and political instability within the territorial borders of South Sudan!
As I wrap up, it is vital to note that the journey of ballooning SSSAK to the high skies has just begun. It is highly likely to end in its ultimate fruition if and when the students’ fraternity rallies their concerted support behind! As a precursor to the foregoing sentence, PEACE must be championed and sung as a Christmas song in the day-to-day interactions of South Sudanese students’ fraternity in Kenya
Long-lived SSSAK! Long-lived South Sudanese citizens! Long-lived South Sudan!
The writer is a student of Law at the University of Nairobi, and a Commissioner at SSSAK’s Electoral Commission 2015-16. He’s reachable at ngorpeters@gmail.com.
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