Rumours and speculations: The prime ailments with which South Sudan is afflicted
By Sunday de John, Nairobi, Kenya
July 10, 2016 (SSB) — Excuse me. It has been a while since I last wrote a piece. The then piece of writing was analytically focused on South Sudan’s economy and why the duo (Hon. David Deng Athorbei and Kornelio Koryom) weren’t supposed to be scapegoats as far as the downright economic downturn was concerned.
The then piece attracted a lot of criticisms and loathe, coming in, in form of emails or Facebook inbox messages and even verbally.
In fact, I got tainted just the same way I was tainted by Makiir Gai’s haters. The bad words directed at me as a result of my recent article were generated by personalities who are either enemies of the two or their naysayers. In essence and with sensibility, I have no much to say on that. However, today’s piece has much to do with South Sudan’s current events.
Before you could eat deep into my piece, the prologue can categorically narrate that as the South Sudan independence was drawing closer, it got marred few hours before the exact time by serious military confrontations that left scores of ample militants and innocent civilians breathless within and around the presidential palace.
The death toll incomparably demean the recorded death tolls in the history of our country and particularly when South Sudanese were resisting Khartoum’s successive and oppressive regimes.
The series of attacks staged by the forces under Dr. Riek Machar’s command have much to do with incitement speech or call it a hate speech delivered by Dr. Dhieu Mathok during burial of the then murdered Gismalla, a senior officer in the ranks and files of the Sudan’s People Liberation Army in opposition. It is on speculation that Gismalla’s death was attributed to the SPLA and out of vengeance following incitement by Dhieu Mathok during burial, a revenge killing was indiscriminately effected.
The initial attacks led to murder of soldiers from the national army on Gudele road, civilians including innocent foreigners and the latest attack at J1 worsened the matters as the then unaware presidential guards were badly assaulted and killed.
This reaffirmed the fact that Dr. Riek and company are harboring disharmony despite peace agreement they signed. In my view, the situation in Juba although declared normal, seems volatile.
Many factors still exist that can reveal further the hidden plan.
The J1 incidence can be either interpreted as a coup attempt or planned but foiled assassination on the person of Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit. Facts be stated, there have never been spontaneous heavy military confrontations and even the December 2013 fighting had a brief natural history.
Nonetheless, recent fighting has revealed a lot about our leaders and as I mentioned long time ago, leadership crisis is the principal issue in the Republic of South Sudan.
It isn’t that President Salva is a bad leader, rather it is the fact that his leniency has been attracting insubordination from many parameters and therefore, creating weak institutions and frail trust amongst the elites.
The deeply seated hatred created by the rivalry between Dr. Riek Machar Teny and Co in one hand and Dr. John Garang de Mabior and Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit in the other hand has engulfed and divided the nation on ethnic lines and so can be reignited anytime by even a negligible misunderstanding.
Despite this, the aggravating factors to such functional hatred are poverty, rumours, illiteracy, speculations and etc. It must not be underestimated that poverty can push people to the extremes and it is for this reason that hungry men have on many counts been described correctly as angry men.
When hungry, one can murder, steal, rob or even practice all. In South Sudan many thieves have already emerged. This is what poverty has created. The conflict in the country isn’t purely political in its true characteristics although it has been christened that way.
The mindset of most of our contemporary South Sudanese leaders is all about wealth. Believe me, most, if not, then all South Sudanese leaders do not take leadership as a service, rather they take it as an opportunity to accrue wealth and that has been our greatest problem with our current leaders and perhaps Kiir is exceptionally meek and perhaps not corrupt but Dr. Riek is skewed to doom by his greed for power, wealth and white wives.
As if poverty was the only greatest affliction, rumours mustn’t be underestimated. The rumormongers have had their fair share of the deal. Leaders have based their governance on rumours and rumormongers have found that as a chance to exploit the ignorance of the leaders and hence have profited well and more so, have created irremediable conflicts amongst people and so creating an evergreen environment for the sprouting of everlastig discord.
Again, the speculations have had their toll too. The recent fighting is a guess work of James Gadet Dak. He conspired as revealed by his Facebook post and therefore he was indirectly the architect of the ruthless J1 severe fighting.
It is true that yesterday’s fighting had created a win-win situation. Had Riek’s forces overran J1, Kiir at best would have been a prisoner or at worst a deceased. God forbid. However, had President Salva Kiir not been a Peace-loving or God-fearing person then he would have allowed the worst to happen to Dr. Riek. Too, God forbid. That was a situation created by rumours and speculations directly from Riek’s spokesman.
It is upto brother James Gadet Dak to ponder on this. His incompetence, insensitivity, misinformation and blood thirstiness have resulted to the death of scores of militants and civilians that would’ve created or added value to the country and to their families.
Illiteracy is as well one co-inflicter of the escalating near death of the country. Dr. Riek would always get huge militia force by lying to the masses of illiterate youth that the society has been offended.
He had on many counts urged them to go for unprofitable offensives against Dinka. The massive youth then flock to his ruthless fellowship without analysing the drawbacks of wars they fight. If power is this expensive then much has to be done to find a right price for it. Not human lives just the way it happens.
Nuer like any other tribe in the Republic of South Sudan are great people. They can’t be removed from the country. The same is true for Dinka, Toposa, Bari and etc. For this reason, they must stop rivalry. Shun death by accepting that they are brothers and then lead a productive life so as to prosper.
Till then, yours truly Mr. Teetotaler!
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