Determining the Reformed Government of South Sudan
19 min readBy Stephen Kuol Owet
In a country like the Republic of South Sudan, constitution, local or municipal laws do not have to be brought from outside South Sudanese cultural-traditional laws and orders – neither reformed government which could dictate – or change South Sudanese cultures and traditions nor any of the foreign-made constitutional systems work in South Sudan.
For the sake of South Sudan and South Sudanese union and identity, preserving South Sudan just as it is, is the best choice, with only the reformed system that can join South Sudanese community laws and orders together and form one official document which could be named as a constitution – which South Sudan can abide by – or laws which are written in South Sudanese languages first, then interpreted into the language which foreigners could easily understand. In the meantime, interim-government or transitional-government had not worked – since, neither interim- nor trans- works for South Sudan – because both trans- and interim- are alienated-government frontal view types which are adopted from the outside South Sudanese cultures and traditions, so is capitalism and conventional government; they (capitalism- and conventional-) will not work for South Sudan because those two governmental type-systems are too new to South Sudaneses.
Force or army force does not work to change South Sudanese civilizations, and only South Sudanese can make something from their well known social laws and orders from Jieng, Naath, Chollo, Equatorians, Burun, Maban, etc. – doubt not, because God has not mistaken for creating human races in different colours with different languages – for any religious geek and those who think that people should be the same – well if you, people had not written your own laws or constitution in your own mother tongues, it could not had work for you even if you devote your lifetime on it, foreign constitutions. Constitution and/or laws and orders must always be written, read, understood and approved by the people from their own basic customary laws and orders in their languages first before the President or parliament can approve.
First, looking into the past and present, Sudaneses and mostly Southerners have always been fighting themselves, not because they are ignorant but it has been because they (South Sudaneses) are being deceived and forced to do things out of their wills by some of their sophisticatedly assumed leaders who know nothing but to conduct bloody business (oil business) with foreigners against South Sudanese interests. Among them, Dr. Lam Akol and Dr. Riek Machar are the major leaders who always want South Sudan to be at war all the time.
They (Lam and Riek) have always been the only South Sudanese figured leaders who always have been running in and out of the SPLM leadership, betraying South Sudan to foreigners and forced privatized companies which always assist both Riek and Lam with military logistics to illegally operate in South Sudan through the use of army. No blame here, but Dr. Lam and Dr. Riek have caused division to SPLA/M in the past, calling themselves “SPLAM-Nasir” faction. Therefore, neither Dr. Lam Akol nor Dr. Riek Machar fits to be a President of South Sudan despite what type of government is formed and equally work for South Sudan’s people.
Lam has his own constitution, SPLM-DC’s and Riek has his known-kept old SSIM’s paper and he, Riek has recycled it to be known as SPLM-In-Opposition’s. If South Sudaneses forget Lam and Riek’s ideologists, South Sudan will be South Sudan, but if South Sudaneses consider Riek or Lam to be a President of South Sudan, South Sudan will never be South Sudan ever again – you know who has been running in and out – fighting SPLA today, then tomorrow fighting former Sudanese army and leaving civilians behind to be slaughtered by whoever has conflict with him (Lam Akol). It was not that difficult to spot Lam‘s ex-SPLA-United fighting Riek’s SSIM/A in the past, then next Riek’s former SSIM fighting SPLA/M-United of Lam.
Tomorrow Lam is seen in Khartoum, the next day, Riek follow Lam’s footsteps, and when leadership pressure tasks seemed to increase on the side of the government, Lam ran out to join with his SPLA-United, then Riek followed Lam out too to share with late Dr. John Garang de Mabior and SPLA/M peace talk in Kenya, etc while Garang was still alive- then Lam accept Garang’s leadership and Riek too. After Garang rest and Salva Kiir became the leader of SPLM in 2007, Lam became mad and argued that he does not need to be led by Salva Kiir because he (Lam) thought in his madly nightmares that Salva Kiir is just a military officer and he (Salva) cannot lead him (Lam Akol) – Lam Akol thought that Salva Kiir was illiterate. While the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ responsibility has been hard for Lam Akol, Lam Akol ran out from SPLM and left to join NCP, National Congress Party of President Omar el Bashir.
When leadership and accountabilities became not Lam’s favorite job in the Minister of Foreign Affair’s office, Lam was removed from his foreign affair ministerial job and was given another ministerial (Minister of Cabinets) office, but Lam reputed and joined SPLM-DC in Khartoum – 2009 and became SPLM-DC leader. After Lam learnt that his dreadful moves are being monitored and thoroughly studied, his (Lam Akol) decisions produced an underground rebellion and started another military campaign by recruiting private armies (South Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and South Sudan Defense Force), rebel fighters as an attempt to overthrow SPLM leadership in South Sudan in 2008/9 to 2011. Lam Akol failed with his armies to forcefully overthrow the Government of South Sudan using soldiers and unarmed civilians as his shield.
After learning from his mistakes, he (Lam Akol) denied the army position which he had recruited to fight for him. Year 2010 came and gone-by and after failing to take over South Sudanese President seat by force and failed to control South Sudanese government by the means of usage of military offensives, for an attempt to control Salva Kiir and the entire SPLM leadership – and despite all trials to be a leader of South Sudan through bloody war, Salva Kiir gave Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin and his fighters an amnesty. After a long negotiation, Lam Akol convinced, was welcome and went to South Sudan and became friend with Salva Kiir behind a closed door.
Lam Akol left Salva Kiir’s friendship after he (Lam) met Dr. Riek Machar and started to became friend with Riek Machar again in 2013 right after the celebration of the third South Sudan independent day; Lam Akol has used Riek Machar to provoked Salva Kiir and the same Lam Akol used Salva Kiir to aggravate Pagan Amum and ex-detained SPLM-top politicians – so he (Lam Akol) could find a way to rejoin SPLM and be positioned as Vice President in place of Dr. Riek Machar or Secretary General in place of Pagan Amum, but Salva Kiir did not play that fool game either – instead he (Salva Kiir) lured Riek out and pre-jailed Pagan Amum and his crews as a mean of protection and to avoid farther and internal conflict within the government, but [misunderstanding was confirmed via technologies such as phone calls, text messages, and cellular phones usages, then armies commanded themselves, Riek ran out of Juba, and war took place, Uganda Army and everybody else got involved into South Sudanese’s more seven months war which was started in late December 2013] – according the South Sudanese Commander-in-Chief Peter Hoth April, 2014.
Before the mid of war, Riek Machar claimed the opposition fighters’ side as a leader but he had no command over whoever had been fighting who in South Sudan – instead of attempting to stop the hostilities and unite South Sudan. On Lam Akol’s side, his magic had worked and it looked like he was turned a favorite and his trick and traitorous habit work while two leaders (Salva Kiir and Riek Machar) are fighting one another, and the some most powerful SPLM leaders are assumed to be in a bad luck jail.
Lam Akol stood quietly and waited to see if his ideology, the forceful-transitional government works for both Riek and Salva, but all sudden, Pagan Amum and his fellows SPLM politicians were released – Pagan Amum and his ex-prisoners decided to still be and like the Government of South Sudan and work for the people of South Sudan to keep SPLM vision on track, and Salva Kiir have agreed to reform the government and work with the 12 ex-detained SPLM politicians including former South Sudanese Secretary General Pagan Amum. Lam Akol was left with his assumed and intensified dilution because Salva Kiir has not really been aiming to hurt his fellow SPLM officers but hide them in a cell so they would not be harmed by the separatists who are against SPLM leadership.
The former detained SPLM politicians are out from hide and SPLM and Salva Kiir are back in business with the hope of looking at former SPLM Secretary General Pagan Amum Okiech as a future leader of the SPLM and to lead South Sudan out of the mystery with or without a major transformation in the government systems. Salva Kiir preferred Pagan Amum to lead the SPLM with or without the reform because he (Pagan Amum) has the late Dr. John Garang de Mabior’s wisdom – but the hesitation is the return of both Riek Machar and Lam Akol to try to claim the top official seat of SPLM leadership or the President of South Sudan’s position through the use of army.
Should Pagan Amum Okiech be the President of South Sudan and either Riek Machar or Lam Akol tries to harass Pagan as they (Lam and Riek) had done to the late Dr. Garang de Mabior and President Salva Kiir Miyardit. The reform is not yet approved and upon approval by the current South Sudanese President Salva Kiir that lawmaker/judge Pagan Amum Okiech has to be the president of South Sudan, neither Dr. Riek Machar nor Dr. Lam Akol should be needed to interfere with South Sudanese government affairs while President Pagan Amum Okiech is in the office – because Salva Kiir is definitely confident to weigh war for another term-two or three terms to keep both Riek and Lam out of presidential office in South Sudan. And since late Dr. John Garang de Mabior has managed to keep separatists from hurting SPLM vision, Salva Kiir can also do what father can do to his family in the name of united Republic of South Sudan. Riek and Lam are the reason why South Sudan is not prospering like any rich country.
Looking into the past, Anglo-Egyptian-Sudanese came and past in 1955, but Southern Sudaneses with their identity still look at their cultures and tradition as their base of laws and orders. Meanwhile Sudan became independent in 1956, and Southern Sudan was granted a temporary self-governing and independent state (Southern Sudan) in 1972 until 1982/83 under the leadership of people like Jaden, Mourtat, Oduho, Lagu, Abel, Gai, D.K. (Koat), and many other Anya-nya leaders were known as the representative of Southern Sudanese government in the former Sudanese parliament then – and after the peace deal that was signed in Addis Abab – 1972.
After Anya-nya leadership dissolved and the old Southern Sudan independent abolished, another Anya-nya was born in 1982 and it was named “Anya-nya Two and among them, Anya-nya IIs did come leaders like late Dr. John Garang de Mabior, William Nyuon Bany, Karbino Kuanynyin Bol, David Yau Yau, Peter Gatdet, etc, then born SPLA in 1983, and Commander Salva Kiir with his heroic effort popped up as a young leader with sharp mind in the SPLA movement – top officer in SPLA/M army security, then Oyai Deng Ajak (the most powerful SPLA/M young Commander-in-Chief in ‘80s and ‘90s) and Pagan Amum Okiech, the most trusted and most powerful politician SPLA/M Secretary General ever known, then Peter Hoth, Paulino Matip, Kuol Mangang Juuk, Nyachigak, etc – no farther discussion on these topic here – go fig. Despite whatever or who was the leader, SPLA was still properly organized and have a functionality and ability to conquer its political and fire-armed opponents until Lam Akol and Riek Machar with their inexperienced policy pulled-out from the SPLA for SPLA-Nasir in 1991. Less to be discussed in detail here!
Now, let’s define the word reform which this talk is mainly about, then phrase a little about constitution, local or municipal laws afterward. According to dictionaries, “Reform” means to improve or correct what is defected or corrupted; to change or form again what is already changed; to make better or change by removing fault(s); reclaim or rehabilitate; to change or improve one’s character(s); to bring major changes to laws, constitution and organizations; to change people’s cultures and traditions and/or to make major changes in religion or belief. From the definitions above, only one reform which is the “change in constitution and organizations” need to be done, but not through any mean of army force or military coup in South Sudan – because South Sudaneses need not to fall on the same swindle which Anya-nya had once felt into.
To be touchy too, the conventional government which some politicians have been bossing about-in South Sudan is already defined and known, but it sounds very contradicted foreign views of conservativeness which cannot unite South Sudan; it is a bargaining and ways of finding another a systematic means of looting South Sudanese states and South Sudanese resources through privatized foreign mercenaries just as Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin and Dr. Riek Machar have been doing to ruin South Sudan, South Sudanese union and South Sudanese identity. And, capitalism is another meant opportunists’ would-be wish for South Sudan, but it is another deceptive policy which come from disturbed individuals and their foreign and greedy-stakeholders who have been looking to strike a rich in South Sudan. It is possible to write capitalism off in South Sudan because it was not born in South Sudan and keep South Sudanese and South Sudan’s image pure as South Sudan.
There is nothing wrong with South Sudanese being South Sudanese. Rehabilitation as defined above does not fit for Government of South Sudan because Government of South Sudan is neither weak nor corrupted yet because it is SPLA/M. The only improvement and modification which need to be done is in the justice systems and legality areas. Any judicial areas and legalisms in South Sudan are the ones which need to be made “identical” with the customary laws and basic, cultural-traditional laws of South Sudaneses in South Sudan.
Pause! Constitution could be defined as “a document contains basic laws which unify and equally govern people in a country.” And, in dictionaries, constitution is stated to be a “’basic laws,’ ‘an established laws or traditions,’ ‘a structural of physically makeup of things or individuals or basic laws in a politically organized body or a document contains a basic laws [for a state or country].’” In term of South Sudan, individuals or people mentioned here are South Sudaneses and basic laws which would have been made up signify South Sudanese customs or traditional laws.
But not some sort of junks from some foreign nationalists’ ideologies who thought of putting barriers between South Sudaneses or forcefully make South Sudan and South Sudaneses look as if a garbage field is located in South Sudan. Prophetically, “misleading is always from leaders and it is where foreign trained lawmakers or lawyers [who do not know anything about South Sudanese cultures or traditions] come and dump their foreign made laws or drafted papers and dump them onto South Sudanese minds through the use of army or militia.
Sometime it does happen that some –unnamed but well known wealthy foreign diplomats who have studied laws in their own foreign countries but have ran out of rooms to apply such laws [which they studied and wrote in their foreign nations], thought they could work out their foreign laws in South Sudan. As a result, they usually pay [sum of money] to people like Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin, and Dr. Riek Machar as an attempt to establish army and apply those foreign made up constitution to work on South Sudaneses militarily through the use of armies. And those have been the reasons why Riek Machar and Lam Akol have been provoking SPLM leadership through the usage of fire-armed army or militia (rebel) against South Sudaneses’ freedom.
To disregard foreign-made-laws in South Sudan, South Sudaneses have customs and those customary laws work for South Sudaneses before and after the independent of the old Republic of Sudan in 1956. Because those customs work for them [South Sudaneses], old Sudanese regimes had had been attempting to hassle and forcefully nullify South Sudanese customary laws, and those have been another essential motives of life and freedom why Southern Sudaneses picked up army against the old Sudanese governments of Khartoum – Anya-nya and the SPLA. You may recall them (Anya-nya and SPLA, Sudan People’s Liberation Army).
Locally, local laws could be particular laws and orders which influence people in certain area (city or community) and/or county wide. And those local laws could be united together to form a county or municipal (regional) laws and municipal laws in counties in state could be combined to form state laws and all states’ laws could be merged and study thoroughly to form South Sudanese constitution for South Sudan. But crying out loud and doing nothing with something that you [South Sudaneses] know best while South Sudaneses are suffering in some traitors’ hands, can always lure an open-eyes-greedy businessmen/women to steal from any South Sudanese and kill as many people [South Sudaneses] before the rest of foreigners copy the same tricks and strike South Sudaneses’ wealth.
Believing is not a magic but after they [foreigners] get used to steal from South Sudaneses, they always leave South Sudan insufficient, broke, in poverty and at war as they [foreigners] have deliberated. In the meantime, South Sudaneses know from the beginning that going from locality to another locality, laws change a little bit, and going from county to county, laws do vary somewhat too and going from state to another state , laws do change too. South Sudan is one of the countries that do not need to be told what to do when it comes to laws and orders, and even if there are weaknesses in justice systems in South Sudan and among South Sudaneses’ basic laws, those weaknesses do not come from South Sudaneses’ cultures and traditions. They came from the outside South Sudanese cultural-traditional and customary laws.
To add, the reform in the governmental systems in South Sudan do not have to be created to weaken South Sudanese traditions and cultures but boost [only through documenting] South Sudanese cultures and traditional laws and make them the essential laws that can govern South Sudaneses in South Sudan. The current South Sudanese draft constitution is not originally developed from any of South Sudanese cultures and traditions; it is a foreign-made-philosophical paper which actually dictates South Sudaneses’ life, right, culture, tradition, and definitely against South Sudanese custom and South Sudaneses’ basic laws in South Sudan.
And, South Sudan can produce something better – which implies that Naath know how to rule, judge themselves and resolve their problems; Jieng know how to rule, judge and solve their issues; Chollo know how to rule, judge, and resolve their cases, equatorians know how they judge, rule, and tackle their own issues too and etc. And if it happens that a county or state is inhabited by both Jieng and Naath, that county or state must be governed by both Naath and Jieng’s customary laws; if a state or county is lived by Chollo, Naath, Jieng, Maban and Burun, that state or county must be government according to Chollo, Naath, Jieng, Maban, and Burun’s basic laws; if a payam/town/city or village is inhabited by only Naath, that town/city/payam or village must be governed according to Naath’s basic laws and etc.
That is how people and a country endure in peace and in an orderly manner. These could be of course policies which can be the only guidelines which need to be documented and learnt by any lawmaker, judge, law enforcers, army officers/soldiers/national army, citizens, businesses and businessmen/women, leaders and visitors including foreign workers (if any) in each and every states in South Sudan. This could have been easy for everyone if the known South Sudanese community or localized social laws and orders are written in South Sudanese languages first and merged them (South Sudanese laws and orders) to bring the reform which South Sudaneses really need – then interpret them into other international languages that can be easily understood by other nationalists. For these reasons, South Sudaneses are looking at Pagan Amum to lead such a reformed Government of South Sudan, and believing could be somehow a shock too – because it does not need to be a year long, it could be at lease a minimum of one (1) week to maximum of three (3) weeks in order to draft a fully draft copy of South Sudan-made constitution and a policy that can govern both organizations and people (including those who work for the Government of South Sudan).
If that is not the reform, then the future is too rebellious for South Sudaneses because foreigners will always have a chance to deeply nose in and bring what, who and guns which South Sudaneses do not need to rule in South Sudan. In the meantime, South Sudan does not abide by foreign prophecies, laws, orders and constitution in South Sudan – learnt – though these foreign-made laws or orders are written and understood, they do not work for the people in South Sudan because these are political instabilities which accompany foreign diplomatic and political affairs and metropolitan games which do not benefit South Sudan and South Sudaneses.
Foreign businessmen/women are not reluctant to use people like Dr. Lam Akol and Dr. Riek Machar to alarm life in South Sudan. Should South Sudan make a reformed Government of South Sudan possible under the leadership of Pagan Amum while Lam Akol and Riek Machar have South Sudanese Presidential image painted in their bloody imaginations and hateful hearts? And on what cause, if President Salva Kiir is already aware that either Riek or Lam could return and spoil SPLM leadership if the reformed Government of South Sudan is handed over to Pagan Amum as a President of South Sudan under the SPLM leadership? To determine the reformed Government of South Sudan, dialogue, and getting to learn, know and documenting what South Sudaneses really need in the jurisdiction and legality point of views traditionally and culturally – as the late Dr. John Garang de Maboir have wanted, but not military confrontation as Dr. Riek Machar and Dr. Lam Akol have been practicing by pulling South Sudanese progresses apart and backwardly for the last 24 (twenty-four) years – since 1991.
If South Sudaneses need to do something really good and work for them, they [South Sudaneses] have to study themselves [South Sudaneses] and document what they have learnt from themselves [South Sudaneses] of laws and orders traditionally and culturally. Foreigners are not good to study South Sudaneses traditions and cultures because they [foreign philosophers] are business people and some of them are foreign intelligent or army and security officers from nations which hate South Sudanese cultures and traditions; they can question – just as they have been questioning South Sudanese customary laws and orders, and they [foreigners] can change things around for the benefits of their foreign nations.
Again, the reformed government of South Sudan could mean, not a change to South Sudanese cultures and traditions, but it can be a bit restructuring in the governmental systems by substituting what have been confusing South Sudaneses in governmental systems and organizations, and leave what does not confuse South Sudaneses in South Sudan in place – in term of laws among individual citizens and at the very fabric justice systems in South Sudanese states – and avoid anything call “Amnesty” in South Sudan at all causes because if any government official or officer does wrong to public or citizens in South Sudan, he/she (that government official) does not deserve pardon due to his/her role as a government official, and she/he should have been thoroughly familiar with any conduct, condition, and term before he/she takes the public official duty office for South Sudanese.
Possibly, upon violating government policies, such a person should not be given amnesty and not work in the public office ever again for South Sudaneses – until he or she comes clean enough. Look, because Dr. Lam Akol and his former rebel fighters were given amnesties, Dr. Riek Machar with his gorilla fighters is looking for the same opportunity too; both Riek and Lam have been killing people and used innocent civilians of South Sudan as their shields.
When the reformed government of South Sudan is in place and Pagan Amum becomes President of South Sudan, amnesty is going to be terminated and corruption will be slaughtered because Mrs./Mr. Corruption and Mr./Mrs. Amnesty are married couple in South Sudan. Though millions of South Sudaneses are hurt by the corrupted individuals, Salva Kiir with his current vibes and elderly open-heart has been giving amnesty to the same corrupted officers more than twice, and the same officers have let South Sudan to have both military and political opponents against South Sudanese interests.
If Dr. John Garang de Mabior was still alive, he would never allow these activities to happen, but South Sudan still has Pagan Amum to lead the reformed government of South Sudan via SPLM leadership with Salva Kiir as witness – just in case Lam and Riek negate to strike government’s bases again – and Pagan Amum cannot allow amnesty to be granted to a corrupted officer. In order to make a reformed government of South Sudan work, Salva Kiir has to approve the reformed government, and South Sudan societies have to be informed to contribute in making the reformed South Sudanese governmental systems based on “what” and “how” questionnaires only.
Stephen O. Kuol Owet (Stephen Owet)
“Citation voided!”
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