A Rebuttal to "Telar Ring Deng: The Most Corrupt Individual and Mastermind of 2013 South Sudan Political Crisis is Back".
9 min readBy Isaiah Makuei Mading, Kampala, Uganda
April 4, 2017 (SSB) — This man Telar Ring Deng. It is interesting how every Tom, Dick and Harry seems to think the only way to gain traction in South Sudanese politics is by maligning his very good name. The beauty about this life however is that we can never rewrite history. This piece is meant to put matters into proper perspective and to remind all and sundry feigning ignorance and spewing unfounded and ridiculous propaganda that you can fool some people sometimes but you can’t fool all the people all the time.
First and foremost, the author has wasted no time in characterizing Amb. Telar Ring Deng as a symbol of hate and a very corrupt man. Nothing could be further from the truth. Amb. Telar Ring Deng epitomizes the new breed of politicians our very young republic yearns for. Ever since he set out to become a public servant, we have all borne witness to his work ethic. From the time he was appointed Minister in the office of the President and stationed at Khartoum before the South Sudanese independence, he worked tirelessly to ensure that the Government of Sudan as it then was worked efficiently. When the forces of evil conspired against him, he respected the President’s decision and not only moved out of the government owned house assigned to him but also returned all cars and bodyguards back to the state; unlike what we know as the norm in our politics.
Amb. Telar Ring Deng remained in the “political cold” for 3 solid years before his stars aligned yet again and was appointed in 2010 as the Caretaker Governor of the then Lakes State just before the elections. To this day, the residents of this great state still laud him for the much he did in just 3 months. He ruthlessly dealt with the lethargy that is mostly the hallmark of public service and was always at the very front leading his people in initiatives he thought would be beneficial to the community in Lakes State.
Many often remember how he would leave his office after work and join the ordinary folk in a clean-up exercise. A true reflection of what servant leadership is. His record is in the public eye. During his time, no scandals were reported, no extra judicial killings were witnessed; if anything, his time as Governor is often used as the yardstick to measure the performance of the incumbents at any one time. This is the Amb. Telar Ring Deng we know.
A lot has been said about his time in the SPLA/SPLM and we’re often reminded of the infamous Nassir Faction of which he was a member for albeit a short time. The very truth of the Nassir Faction has been widely written and is on record in a book titled SPLM/SPLA: Nassir Declaration authored by none other than Dr. Lam Akol whom at the time together with Dr. Riek Machar were the leaders of the “movement”. Amb. Telar Ring Deng and Cdr. Dengtiel Ayuen Kurr joined the movement because they believed it to be a Democratic movement out to emancipate the ordinary South Sudanese and knew the core of the movement was to push for cessation of south Sudan.
To their shock while in Frankfurt, Germany, they realized that the cobbled outfit was extremely tribal and its leadership was out to take advantage and milk the already emaciated South Sudanese by collaborating with the Government of Sudan for personal and monetary gain. Being the patriots that they were, on realization that they could not betray the spirit of the rebellion that led to the civil strife in the then Sudan, Amb. Telar Ring Deng and Cdr. Dengtiel Ayuen Kurr re-joined the SPLM/SPLA and continued with the struggle.
Moulana Telar has borne the brunt of the trickery that has straddled over south Sudanese politics like a colossus. When he was appointed Minister of Justice, the powers that be, blamed him for being named in the infamous list of the 75 persons who chewed an estimated 4 Billion dollars of cash earmarked to set our young nation towards a new course that would lead in spurring growth in the different sectors of our economy had it been put to good use. Because this cadre feared the unknown, the resorted to question Moulana Telar’s credibility and further questioned his academic qualification.
What was perhaps lost in the pile of garbage that was being spewed at the time was the fact that the management of the prestigious Ivy league christened Birmingham University wrote a letter confirming that indeed Moulana Telar studied, sat and passed all his examinations and in turn earned a Bachelor’s degree in law that is otherwise known as an LL.B. But because of their ill intentions, this letter was of no consequence and instead manufactured a scandal and used this as a reason to oppose his appointment. In what has become his nature, he took it all in positively and vowed to continue serving his country in whatever capacity the president deemed fit.
It has been alleged that Amb. Telar Ring Deng was solely responsible for the 2013. This statement should be treated with the contempt it deserves. Quite ridiculous. It is as a matter of fact that the 2013 crisis was as a result of a power struggle between the incumbent president and Dr. Riek Machar. Former Detainees and not Riek were behind the whole crisis. Riek only provided the Nuer army as Former Detainees had no support on the ground. Only an imbecile can fail to see the end result of this high octane propaganda.
Upon Parliament’s refusal to accept his appointment, he was reappointed as Presidential advisor for a short stint before being posted to Russia as ambassador and as it stands, due to his hard work, proven work ethic and diligence, he has been tasked to oversee over a dozen countries in Eastern Europe. It has been alleged that his posting was as a result of the political posturing in Arusha by FDs and SPLM-IO. If this were to be the case, then isn’t it because of his fidelity to the rule of law, the Constitution and the people of south Sudan that the architects of this grandiose scheme were afraid of?
It is very interesting that the author in his wisdom or lack thereof elected to use the tired narrative that Amb. Telar Ring Deng in cahoots with Garang Deng Aguer fleeced the country off 7 million dollars. It is a matter already in public domain and a topic that has been subject of discussion whenever anyone thinks of linking Moulana Telar to any corruption since they fail to find any. To put the record straight, none other than H.E. President Salva Kiir Mayardiit has responded affirming the fact that Moulana Telar was working under his direct instructions in this particular matter. Furthermore, Garang Aguer already had an order from the Supreme Court over the same matter and in order to avoid a situation where the country loses more, Moulana Telar elected to do what is right.
As to allegations levelled against him in reference to compensation over the helicopter crash, the money for Russian helicopter compensation is held up at Chase bank in Nairobi. To those who may not be well versed with the goings on at this bank, it important to note that Chase bank has been under receivership for over a year now. The money was never transferred to Embassy accounts at any one time as alleged.
To those alleging a conspiracy that Moulana Telar is engineering a move geared towards his appointment to the cabinet and removal of others, my response is two-fold. First and foremost, it presupposes that H.E. President Salva Kiir Mayardiit cannot be able to independently make a determination as to who serves in his cabinet and has to wait for a third party’s advice over the same. This is quite a preposterous argument. It actually insults the very South Sudanese who overwhelmingly put their trust in him and voting for him. It should also be noted that H.E. President Salva Kiir Mayardiit is among the most decorated soldiers of his generation.
These facts only expose the hollowness in the alleged article. Secondly, we are a nation that is founded on the rule of law. The president is mandated under Article 101 to appoint constitutional and judicial post holders in accordance with the Constitution, appoint presidential advisors, represent the state in foreign relations, appoint ambassadors of the state and accept credentials of foreign ambassadors.
He also has authority to remove a state governor and/or dissolve a state legislative assembly in the event of a crisis in the state that threatens national security and territorial integrity. It therefore goes without saying that if H.E. President Salva Kiir Mayardiit deems it fit to appoint Amb. Telar Ring Deng to any position whether in cabinet or anywhere else, he will be doing so in line with the law. To allege that Amb. Telar Ring Deng has conspired to have ministers fired and was the instigator of Hon. Rin Tueny Mabor’s sacking is only in the pigment of the writer’s imagination.
If only the author knew that infct it is Amb. Telar Ring Deng who actually lobbied and ensured that Hon. Mayiik Ayii Deng was appointed to the national assembly in 2011 only for his to turn and vote against him during his vetting in 2013. Equally so, it is Moulana Telar who’s lobbying led to the appointment of Hon. Rin Tueny Mabor as Governor and on being fired he released his lapdog in the name of his son to publicly attack and insult him. What a tragedy!
To cap it all up, the writer has promised to unleash more information to the unsuspecting public about an alleged sale of Amb. Telar Ring Deng’s house sale to NILEPET. The last I checked, as the writer rightly points out, this house is a private residence and there is nothing in law that illegalises conduct of business between private entities and any state agencies. The writer’s desperation at clutching at straws is quite evident
Last but not least, it is often said that when you see a dog bark, be rest assured that its owners are around. To you Mr. Andrew Mabor Clement, your masters that the guilty are always afraid and no matter how much you try to soil Amb. Telar Ring Deng’s name, always remember that he has come this far by virtue of the fact that he is a hardworking man. Remind them not to throw stones from there glass houses!
You can reach the author via his email: isaiahmading@gmail.com
The opinion expressed here is solely the view of the writer. The veracity of any claim made is the responsibility of the author, not PaanLuel Wël: South Sudanese Bloggers (SSB) website. If you want to submit an opinion article or news analysis, please email it to paanluel2011@gmail.com. SSB do reserve the right to edit material before publication. Please include your full name, email address and the country you are writing from.
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