Four personalities that have been in the limbo are the ones responsible for South Sudan’s mess
4 min readBy Peter Mapuor Makur, Nairobi – Kenya
August 5, 2015 (SSB) — With all modesty, I think my categories of personalities who entered the southern bushes in an effort to fight Khartoum regimes may be one of my finest contributions to the study of South Sudan’s existing veterans. In a nutshell, under this scheme, our veterans probably fall into one of four categories: liberators, wealth seekers, clan tyrants and the forced, depending on how they joined and why they joined the movement.
Liberators, relentless in their pursuit of dignity and recognition, their abilities were and still are remarkable; wealth seekers, although they tuned to the dance of liberation struggle, their hands were and are still extended to marauding soldiers and the civil population at large; clan tyrants, joined the war just to get weapons for protecting not only their egos but also their clans; the forced, were ordered out of their will by authorities so that they aid in liberation.
Do you agree to the categories? Well, I know you don’t but the good news is that I’m still sanitizing this idea, and I’d be very interested to hear your clear thoughts on this analysis.
One important question is: What main effect(s) has the four categories caused the country, South Sudan? Here’s what I currently believe. Let’s see if it rings true to you.
A liberator, both employed and unemployed, wakes up and thinks, “What will I do to help Mr. Kiir Mayardit and Dr. Riek Machar to find a lasting solution to peace?” These individuals are motivated by their earlier political decision they took to tie the knots of slavery from the southern wrists. Even after the war, they still want things accomplished. They’re shy to hear blames of a failed nation from their former enemies, the Sudanese.
The bad news is that a majority of them are not given chances to serve and consequently, most of them have withdrawn their abilities into their shells. Some of them are geriatric meanwhile, a minority of them who are youthful get neutralized by the wealth seekers in the circles of Mr. Kiir.
The wealth seeker wakes up and thinks, “How much do I get today from anywhere, by any means, so that I can repay myself for the time I lost fighting voluntarily with Khartoum?” They’re very motivated to see that government is a business for rewarding themselves. They really don’t like spending time and effort on activities that are entirely for the people.
The clan tyrant wakes up and thinks, “How do I get firearms for my clansmen so that they are feared by the surrounding communities?” They are very motivated by a sense of clan defense, of clashing communities. They really don’t like being told to think national.
The “forced” wakes up and thinks, “Why are people not fighting anymore? Were we not recruited to be fighting?” They’re still with a guerilla mind and want to fight everyone, every time. They’re ready to shoot at any slightest provocation because they’re like sleeping lions.
Dear reader, understanding this is important, because if you want to know why some veterans behave the way they are behaving especially in handling national resources and power, it’s key to know the types of people we have in different organs of our political and army structures.
That is what runs on my mind. What do you think? If you share the same thoughts with me, then you’ll agree with me that the mess in our country on both sides of the conflict is caused by the dissatisfied elements of the aforementioned four categories.
If you’ve been fighting to rescue South Sudan in your own way, well and done, but the best war to be fought is the war against institutional reforms and accountability mechanisms… Always stay warm and call me “The Cleverfool” if you wish.
The author, Peter Mapuor, can be reached via his email: mapuorcheatdeath1@yahoo.com
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