A Call for Expulsion of Hilde Johnson from South Sudan

This question is best answered by democrats who periodically elect their representatives to serve them at various levels in a democratic country. South Sudan is a democracy and those who understand the term can answer it.

On 22nd December 2014, the South Sudanese political parties and civil society organizations went to the streets to demonstrate against the ongoing war in the country. The said demonstration was also directed against UNMISS chief, Hilde Johnson. ‘’Down, down Riek Machar,’’ down, down Hilde Johnson’’ denoting that the duo are working against the people of this nascent country.

Hilde Johnson go! Reason being that the people of this country are frustrated by what UNMISS is or not doing since 2006. The initial contract for this UN mission was six months, but has since been renewed multiple times the latest was last July 2013.

Many citizens now begin to see the double standards of the UN mission in action immediately after the events of 15th December 2013 precisely the attempted coup and its aftermath. UNMISS is seen as a partial player and sympathetic to the rebels causes of which Yau Yau rebellion is among them. UNMISS is beset by internal and external problems it continuously overlooks.

Firstly, it has failed to condemn it as an attempted coup and has even facilitated the escape of the ringleaders and the masterminds of the coup. UNMISS hosted key rebel leaders in its Bor compound for several days as they waited for their departure using UNMISS helicopters and other motor vehicles for their destination. Some of these important leaders include Hussein Mar, Stephen Par Kuol, Duop Lam, Manoah Gatkuoth and many others. This is undeniable because they have been together with those who came to Juba after a short stay at the compound.

UNMISS over the years armed itself to the teeth for purposes only known to itself. It acquired several military tanks and armored vehicles to be stationed at its burgeoning camps in South Sudan. It has a camp in all the major towns and County headquarters across the country. Ironically, UNMISS has never shot a single bullet to defend its staff at times of danger like when five peacekeepers were killed in Gumuruk, Pibor County and two in the Akobo UNMISS compound. This tells us what kind of organization UNMISS is. It is an organization that would like to scare on the outside, but is too timid on the inside.

There happened a big farce about entry of information minister with armed bodyguards to the Bor UNMISS compound after the fall of Bor on 18th January 2014. Some of us fail to understand all of this when the very UNMISS failed to control armed rebel entry in the past. The UN continues to make a big noise in issues involving government, but kept silent in front of the rebels. The rebels commandeered all the armored vehicles and tanks in Akobo, Bor, Malakal and Bentiu but the sacred UNMISS did not do much about it – only calling for rebels to respect its assets.

The UN continuously displays a double standard when it fails to blame a concern party in a particular circumstance. Why blame the rebels and government forces when it is clearly the rebels who confiscated its hardware and food stuff in the rebel held areas?

On its internal front, UNMISS experienced several strikes from national staff who are underpaid and continues to be overworked by the UN Mission. The international staffs that are well paid and do less work in comparison to national staff. That is the source of contention and resentment between the international and national employees.

The blame is filling up on UNMISS as long as its chief of eight years continues to run it. UNMISS is now highly inefficient as a consequence of its chief abandoning its mandate to join politics of the new nation.

The UNMISS core functions include; child protection, disarmament and reintegration of militia groups, human rights protection and peace building. Other functions are food distribution, health care program and transportation of government officials around the country (Juba Monitor 24 Jan. 2014). These functions have been abandoned in favor of meddling in politics and rebellion in the country. Functions like hosting, transporting, feeding and treating rebels are the new UNMISS functions today.

The UN has an insignificant presence in developed nations today because its work revolves around wars and refugees. In developing countries, the UN is perceived to be part of a solution, but instead becomes part of a problem. This is the case in Congo, Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia.

Hilde Johnson, the current UNMISS chief in South Sudan worked in Congo and the situation went from bad to worse. Who in their right mind thought that she could be any better here? Mr. Ban Ki-moon should recall his special representative because she is no longer special in the situation of South Sudan. If this is not forthcoming, the South Sudan government should hear the citizens’ cries and expel her forever. The government should not soften on this demand.