The political gridlock of Dr. Lam Akol and Dr. Riek Machar in South Sudan
10 min readThe domestic Political gridlock of two South Sudanese PhD holders–Dr. Lam Akol and Dr. Riek Machar
By David Matiop Gai, Juba South Sudan
September 29, 2016 (SSB) —- The political genesis of the two South Sudanese PhD holders had put education in question mark, whether education changed attitudes, characters, personalities, behaviours, as it is believed that education develop and build enact qualities of leaders, but contrary, politics of both engineers is totally non-success, non-performance, and a sinking ship in the history of Sudan before session, and after session in 2011, because Dr. Riek, and Dr. Lam politics are politics of destruction and loss of lives. We are now being led by dysfunctional, paroxysm, and relapse politicians, and we are hopeless societies in their political era.
In politics, there is no permanent enemy, and permanent friend, but in South Sudan politics, leaders of political parties and tribe movements particularly Dr. Lam Akol, and Dr. Riek Machar have already built political swords against Dinka community which is not supposed to be the high tension in backup their political achievement, because how will Riek Machar in his politics do away with Dinka, and how will Dinka do away with Nuer in course of revenge when their members were killed versus Shilluk of Lam Akol.
This politic of killing tribe when community member becomes a leader is nowhere seen in a democratic society unless in military society whereby you take over leadership by force. How do someone like Riek and Lam use innocent tribes for self-political benefits and achievement? In politics, you build political alliances even within oppositions. It is the role of a political leader to build trust, confident, and persuade non-partisans to achieve your political goals and objectives.
South Sudan doesn’t have problems, but problems are probably two failed PhD engineers who shifted to politics in earlier 1980s after their graduation with wrong concepts of spreading hatred, bitterness, envy, jealousy, and building political blocks against nation buildings and nationalism. With these doctors driving the nation in a wrong direction, they defined any South Sudanese leader senior to them as a dictator, for example Dr. John Garang during struggle and now President Kiir, but instead to deal with President Kiir politically minus Dinka, they combine together community and mixed with gestures of their hatred against the community which will not help them achieve their political goals by all means.
Maybe the small window opened for these politicians to act beyond massive was high illiteracy in South Sudan whereby youths are exploited based on deceptions of tribal needs, like lack of infrastructures, social development, unemployment, unessential needs, lack of necessities for lives, and those youths die in a big number without questions of what it is my benefit, and national interest for dying? Youths died in thousands, and people die like animals without an owner.
I don’t think there must be a successful politician in South Sudan politics if we don’t change gears and realize for sure without Nuer, Dinka, or other tribes’ members in your politics, or avoid target killing of tribes for political advancement as others do, none of these politicians will follow Dr. John Garang in recognition and paying tributes, otherwise failures of Dr. Riek and Dr. Lam in South Sudan politics was prevented by Dr. John Garang’s prophesies against them, although if one may manage to reached South Sudan top leadership, he falls off like leaves of trees with curses poured on them during bush struggle because this is what Dr. John Garang said about them, “brothers I forgive you, but the history will not”.
The history is telling both the past and the future. Therefore, the existing South Sudanese generation know what type of Dr. Lam Akol, and Dr. Riek Machar Teny leaders or leadership of their time and it will proceed ahead to incoming generation- they are known politically as failed leaders. And with these failures in their mind, they plan terrible things against South Sudanese people with aims of unconcern, (Malmalu, or geiango).
When I sleep at night, I think over and over again why these giant politicians failed to understand that tackling Dinka as an enemy politically because Dinka politicians like Dr. John, and President Kiir are their political enemies, and then involves the whole community as their enemy, is becoming a political suicide, because Dinka as a community will not accept to be led by a leader who do not distinguish politics and community or a leader who is joying fully killing them or who want to eliminate the whole community from its existence.
For example in Bentiu in 2013, a pregnant Dinka woman was speared in stomach, and child in stomach was too killed. In Bor, old women, or call them grandmothers were raped and after all sticks were forced inside women through sexual organs. Who can accept to be led by Dr. Lam Akol or Dr. Riek Machar Teny whose hearts are full of hatred and division although if American Marines is hired and push for regime change in south Sudan to back them in power, it will be a none stop war until the second coming of Jesus Christ.
For me I don’t have problem although I narrated these stories. I have even lost 16 families in both 1991 and 2013 incidents but still I have love of nation in heart. If I want to join politics, I must applying non-violence, and use political inclusive strategies for all South Sudanese people, because why should I use my tribe as a tool for failures, and bad records?
I don’t think politics of tribes can develop national politics that can bring people together as a nation, but the chronic and political hatred which is now rooted in South Sudan was planted by these two Doctors. In fact South Sudan did not experienced division and killing under John Garang until Dr. Lam Akol and Dr. Riek Machar defected in 1991. People of south Sudan did not killed themselves on tribal bases in Juba for eight years under President Kiir Mayardit until Dr. Riek Machar planned coup in 2013, and in July 2016 respectively. But before we read all about this article, I want to let us check briefly the backgrounds of these two South Sudanese failed doctors, and who also failed the nation in taking off it development.
Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin was a Sudanese by then and now is a South Sudanese politician from Shilluk descent. Dr. Lam Akol Akol was born on 15 July 1950 in Athidhwoi, Upper Nile. He received a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Imperial College London. Lam joined the SPLA in 1986 after having being seen as a secret member of SPLA/M since October 1983, and at the same year Dr. John Garang delegated Dr. Lam in 1986 for peace talk in Addis Abba, unfortunately, Dr. Akol setback politics as he was the first Southerner Arab bought him by his own oil money, and worked within SPLA/M as a secret political gridlock toward South Sudanese bush struggle, freedom, and liberation.
Versus with Dr. Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon, he was born in Leer, Unity State in 1953, the 26th son of the chief of Ayod and Leer. He was brought up as a member of the Presbyterian Church. Machar belongs to the Dok section of the Nuer people. He was trained as an engineer at Khartoum University, and obtained a PhD in Philosophy and strategic planning from the University of Bradford in 1984.
Both engineers joined the SPLA/M like other sons and daughters of Southern Sudan who fought for political struggle, freedom and liberty. But after a while, Dr. Lam, and Dr. Riek fell out short vision and rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) during the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005). With big head/knowledge, and short sight of struggle, both doctors blamed Garang fighting the Khartoum for regime with aims of the marginalized people of the Sudan, which Garang accused them also as counterinsurgencies of Khartoum against his movement.
Dr. John Garang said, my colleagues in SPLM Dr. Lam Akol and Dr. Riek Machar accused me for fighting the whole Sudan, but why can’t we fight first and if we reached Southern border, they stop there and allowing me to proceed ahead if that is the matter? Riek fell out with the SPLM/A leader John Garang in 1991 and formed a splinter group, the SPLM/A-Nasir faction. Few months after they were defeated by Dr. John Garang, they left the party and formed different parties’ parallels, and here are parties they were formed.
Dr. Lam Akol, South Sudanese Politician: He formed SPLM/A Nasir faction in 1991 with Machar, abandon it, but in 1993, he formed SPLM-United, and was dismissed by Dr. John Garang order. In 1997, he signed the Fashoda Peace Agreement with the government and was appointed in March 1998 Sudan’s Minister of Transportation, he held for four years. In 2002 Dr. Akol resigned from the ruling National Congress (NCP), and became a key member of the newly formed opposition Justice Party. He, with most of his forces, rejoined the SPLA in October 2003.
In 2003-2005, Lam Akol was with SPLM/A until Dr. John died in helicopter crashed. In August 2005, President Salva Kiir took over SPLM/A leadership and assigned Dr. Lam Akol by SPLM ticket in transitional government unity in Khartoum as minister of foreign affairs, Akol again rejoined NCP, he was removed his SPLM party, he went and formed SPLM-DC, but after South Sudan independence in 2011, he left the party and went to exile for two years, he was pardon by the president Kiir, and he came back in 2013.
He changed again SPLM-DC to DC party. Recently before July incident, Dr. Akol again participated in plans of toppling the government which he was the minister of Agriculture, and he left before the fighting took place in July. In Khartoum recently, he abandons the DC, and formed a new party call NDM. Mentally and psychologically, is he a man of vision? Check his behaviors.
And to Dr. Riek Machar, he formed SPLM/A Nasir faction in 1991, and rebel against Dr. John Garang. In 1997, he signed a peace accord with Khartoum government, and became chairman of Southern Sudan Defense Forces, (SSDF). In 2000, he left SSDF, and formed another group called Sudan People Defense force, (SPDF) or Democratic Front, (DF). In 2002, he joined SPLM/A he fought against for two years under leadership of Dr. John Garang once again, and process of CPA was achieved because of unity they left. After Garang’s death in July 2005, Dr. Riek became vice president until his attempt coup on 15 Dec in 2013. After Juba deadly attack, he formed SPLM-IO. Mentally and psychologically, is he a man of vision, and South Sudan at heart? Check his behaviors.
These two engineers turned to be politicians in 1980s I repeat but term human being in South Sudan like metals they have specialized for. See how many times did they exchanged politics with blood of people, but we have seen other groups in New York need to be back into power by UN strong troops. I wonder! How do they calculate lives in advent, and their own security in the country? Well you will be brought to power by the West, and overthrow President Kiir, and the West provided you with adequate security in Juba, but how do you rate security of the people outside Juba?
If fighting continues outside Juba like Libya, and its cities, is there any benefit of that leadership? It is better not to be a president than being president put to power by foreigners. What taste or sweet can I get in politics where my people are against me? Greediness of South Sudan politicians to be president is not what can make you human if you are not human being before. Those concepts need to brush away in mind.
I don’t know where south Sudanese got this political theory of going to bush, kill innocent people, ranked up yourself, and come back to rule remnants of your great disaster. Ok, time itself is exhausted. There is time for everything, and it should be over for now. I call upon South Sudanese people in general; peace and unity must be protected, and secure, and by protecting and secure our peace and unity, issues of accountability, and responsibility need to be apply now than tomorrow. Anybody who uses rebellion as a mean of getting into leadership should pay for it. God bless South Sudan.
The author is a co-founder of National Mental Health Care Organization (NMHCO); He holds Bachelor degree in Social Work and Social Administration from SSCUST, Bachelor of Theology from CLT, Bungoma, Kenya/Kalispell, USA, and a fellow researcher. He can be reach at tonggaid551@yahoo.com/davidmatiopgai@gmail.com.
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