Ateny Wek Ateny: Dr John Garang is the Founding Father of South Sudan just like Mahatma Gandhi of India
5 min read“Today is the day to take off our hats in saluting and honouring our martyrs, heroes and heroines. It is the day to ponder how much Dr. John Garang De Mabior, founder of our nation, and all our martyrs whose blood has cemented our nation, and all our martyrs whose blood has cemented our national foundation, have done for us,” President Salva Kiir’s maiden speech on July 9th, 2011
By Wilson Mading Koc, Juba, South Sudan
October 17, 2016 (SSB) —- By definition, the “Father of the Nation” is a revered Title accorded to a person that has a tremendous contribution in ensuring the creation of his or her country. Dr John Garang led a liberation struggle of 21 difficult years, plus tedious 18 months of intense negotiations with the Government of the Sudan in Naivasha that brought to a close Africa’s longest civil war. He met his fate on 30th July 2005, when he had sealed the Independence of the People of South Sudan in the CPA.
Dr Garang knew that people of South Sudan would conduct referendum on the 9th January 2011 and they would proclaim their Independence later on the 9th of July 2011. There was not a coma or dot added or subtracted from what he had left. There was nothing whatsoever that Kiir did in the CPA that Garang did not approve prior to his death.
Ateny Wek, being a Founding Father does not mean witnessing the hoisting of the National Flag or facilitating the admission of the Republic of South Sudan into both African Union and the United Nations as you claimed in your previous writings, but rather what fundamental role someone played in the creation of a new state. President Kiir was a witness; he made sure the expectant mother delivered safely, but he is not the father of the child, but a guardian like some patriots have correctly put in response to your malicious views.
Take the case of Mahatma Gandhi of India, he is the Founding Father of modern India, because of the Non-violent movement he led against British rule in India, he was never the Prime Minister or the President when India declared independence in 1948, he did not receive instrument of power, in fact he did not serve in government. Jawaharlal Nehru, Was the first of Prime Minister of India, so if, we were to apply your logic and your world view Nehru, would have been the Founding Father of modern India. But no!! Reason had to prevail over mischief, greed and idiocy.
Gandhi appointed Jawaharlal Nehru to form Government and prepare India for independence, Dr Garang on the hand appointed Salva Kiir in front of mammoth of people in Rumbek in 2005 and told him to lead the country in his absence.
What is more surprising though is that you are serving President Salva Kiir yet you are ignorant of his position with regards to this topic in question. President Kiir himself knows that Dr Garang is the Founding Father of the modern Republic of South Sudan and he declared this on his maiden speech on the 9th of July, 2011:
“Today is the day to take off our hats in saluting and honouring our martyrs, heroes and heroines. It is the day to ponder how much Dr. John Garang De Mabior, founder of our nation, and all our martyrs whose blood has cemented our nation, and all our martyrs whose blood has cemented our national foundation, have done for us,” President Kiir’s maiden speech on July 9th 2011
You can deny this if you want, but the records are everywhere, there are video clips and audio of this address and I hope these materials are not destroyed because of this J1 emergency of wanting to declare President Kiir the Founding father by your likeminded individuals. Secondly Mama Rebecca was declared by President himself as Mother of the Nation in 2010, apparently this was so because Garang is the Father of the Nation, hence; Rebecca became the Mother of the Nation.
Just because Mama Rebecca currently holds opposing views to that of President Kiir does not warrant revocation of her title. The world doesn’t work like that because if that were to be the case then Kiir would not be addressed as President after all the whole country feels betrayed by him. Commonsense too should take centre stage because sometimes in the future President Kiir will be out of power, imagine people saying he was not the President but his successor is, won’t that sound ridiculous to you Ateny Wek?
I am not asking you, Ateny, to be a person of character because that is a tall order for you, but do yourself a favour keep your job and don’t temper with history, because this history is engrained in the hearts and souls of all South Sudanese. There is no quarrel in saying Kiir Mayardit is the first President of the Republic of South Sudan and Ayen Mayardit the first lady of the Republic of South Sudan.
You can reach the author via his email: Mading Koc <madingkoc707@gmail.com>
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