Why President Kiir Fired his Minister for Environment, Sheikh Abdallah Deng Nhial

By PaanLuel Wël

President Salva Kiir Mayaardit has fired Abdallah Deng Nhial, the National Minister for Environment, and a longtime Islamist with root in the Muslim Brotherhood of the Sudan, headed by Sheikh Hassan el-Turabi. As a fanatical follower of el-Turabi, Abdallah collaborated with Khartoum regime during South Sudan war for independence spearheaded by the SPLM/A.

While Dr. Lam Akol’s name is synonymous with traitorship and collaboration with the North during and after the war of liberation, it is Abdallah that rightfully own that crown; Dr. Lam, it could be argued, has robbed him of the title.

And so when he was appointed Minister for Environment during the recent cabinet overhaul this year, many South Sudanese had interpreted the appointment of such flawed character who spent his entire life collaborating with the North against the interests of Southerners as President Kiir’s pandering to Khartoum in an attempt to appease the Mullahs in Khartoum and keep the oil pipeline open.

This wasn’t a farfetched conclusion because many of the appointees, still in President Kiir’s cabinet such as Riek Gai, have a chequred track record of serving the interests of the NCP of which they were (and still could be) members.

Abdallah Deng’s dismissal from the cabinet yesterday (Nov. 26, 2013) came at a backdrop of a public altercation he had had with Machok Majong Jong last week. Hon. Machok is the MP for Gogrial West county from Warrap State, the constituency and state the President hails from.

It’s understood that an argument between the pair on the premises of the national parliament in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, escalated in to a physical fight. Eyewitnesses said Both Nhial and Majong were arguing in a larger group over the fate of the contested Abyei region in the office of the chairman of the parliamentary affairs committee, before the debate turned into a tit-for-tat exchange of insults. Nhial, who hails from Bor South constituency in Jonglei state, reportedly asserted that “Abyei was already a gone case as part of South Kordofan” in Sudan; a view point which was said to have angered Majong. It’s alleged that Nhial slapped the Gogrial West county legislator after he criticised Nhial for using “bad names”. Politicians from Warrap state, as well as a youth group, lobbied the president to take action against the former minister. Following the incident, Majong attempted to raise a motion in parliament, calling for a vote of no-confidence against the minister. (ST)

Because the relieved Minister had slapped an MP from the President home county, many South Sudanese have been quick to conclude that the President has taken side and fired the Minister to appease “his people” and redeem their butchered honor.

But some commentators have gone deeper and further than that and are passionately claiming that the reason for the President’s move can only be better appreciated in the context of what the fired Minister allegedly said regarding Abyei, something that these observers surmise the president had wanted to be kept under wrap, forever.

“Abyei was already a gone case as part of South Kordofan” in Sudan (Shouted Abdallah Deng Nhial)

This is how the logic goes: President Kiir and Bashir have been meeting, on numerous occasions, over the issue of Abyei and some South Sudanese people do feel that the President hasn’t told the nation the whole truth regarding his discussions with Bashir and the North. For example, did the President trade off Abyei to have the oil pipeline re-opened?

For those who fancy the President might have sold out Abyei, the crime committed by Abdallah Deng Nhial (who is very close to Khartoum and could be privy to the secretive dealings and trade-offs over Abyei), is not that he had dared to publicly slapped an MP from President Kiir backyard; rather it is that he has let the cat out of the bag by revealing something that would, if proven right, disgrace the President.

That is “Abyei was already a gone case as part of South Kordofan”. Where did the good minister got that idea/information from? From his masters in Khartoum and then spilt it out in the heat of the moment, earning the wrath of both Khartoum and Juba?

Some South Sudanese commentators suppose that to be the case:

Abdalla Deng Nhial is a Khartoumer who knows the recent secret deals between incompetent Kiir and criminal Bashir on Abyei issue, and that is why he said Abyei was already a gone case. He meant that Kiir sold it, and this revelation angered Kiir’s MP. (Midiit, a commentator on ST)

Another one concurs thus:

I’m agreed with Mr Midiit 100%. It’s true that Kiir Dismissed Deng Nhail because he is revealing the truth about Abyei issue. And the order to dismiss him came direct from Bashir of Khartoum. Because Bashir did not want any minister from Kiir’s government to behave differently. (Wicdall, from ST)

Of course, this view is not in the majority because most people probably believe that the utterance–and the public stance taken–by the North-affiliated Minister that arbitrarily consign Abyei to the North, is an outrageous crime to warrant his dismissal from the cabinet.

Nonetheless, the fact that some South Sudanese people think it fit to link the President to such treacherous actions should be a wake-up call for the President in as far as he belabors to bring Abyei back to where it rightfully belong: South Sudan.

Comrade Salva Kiir is a proud veteran of two wars: Anyanya-1 and the SPLM/A, including his indispensable patriotic works during the heydays of their Underground Movement. His resolve to have the CPA-mandated Southern Referendum conducted on time and fairly, and his craftiness and courage to oversee the Independence of South Sudan successfully–against all odds that had seemed insurmountable–are commendable and historical.

However, the case of Abyei, more than the rampant corruption and mismanagements in Juba, could undo all those achievements within a blink of an eye if he (had) signs onto dots that handover Abyei to the North.

President Kiir risks joining the ranks of Dr. Lam Akol and Abdallah Deng Nhial, among others, in the eyes of the patriotic South Sudanese people!!

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PaanLuel Wël

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PaanLuel Wël is the founder and editor-in-chief of PaanLuel Wël Media Ltd, a news website that covers news, opinions, analysis, history, culture and literature of South Sudan and the world. Founded in July 2011 by PaanLuel Wël to create a platform for free expression and constructive dialogue, the website features articles from various contributors, including columnists, commentators, poets, authors, activists and academics. PaanLuel Wël believes that media can play a vital role in informing, educating and empowering the people to participate in nation-building and social transformation. He also believes that media can foster a culture of dialogue, tolerance and diversity among different communities and groups, and hopes to inspire and mentor the next generation of South Sudanese writers and journalists.

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