Does SPLM still Exist as a Ruling Party or Just Individuals Ruling South Sudan!
7 min readBy Tito Awen Bol, Nairobi, Kenya
September 24, 2017 (SSB) —- From the words of my teacher; late Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr, “our lives stop the very moment we cease to speak about things that matter to us.” SPLM matter to us thus we must talk about its maladministration and misdeed. Anything concerning the misdeed of Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) should not just begin as such but we must begin by setting the reasonable parameters between the SPLM as a political movement and SPLM as a political party as stages passed by SPLM then come to where it failed.
This will give us a tangible and functional view to appreciate SPLM at the early stages when it was still a movement and give it its deserved empty Cheque that it attains after it became a party. This empty Cheque is culminated from SPLM setting the Country onto several wars and accusing its members of coups year after year and yet not ready to put her house in order but just keep the Country on “war-mood!”
Literally, a political Movement is a social group that operates together to obtain a political goal while a political party is an alliance of like-minded people who work together to win election and control of the government. Registration may be a necessity for a political party under the laws of a particular Country which may not be the case with the political movement.
And for that matter, making a grandiose glare at the history, SPLM at its initial stages when it was still a movement; it can entirely enjoy 100% of the credit and appreciation for the organized means and methods it used to liberate the people of South Sudan from Arab unlike its sister organization registered during the autonomous period and after independence-SPLM party.
Everyone may be asking my questions, is the current SPLM the same political entity we had during the struggle for South Sudan or just a clone? And, where is the Civil Authority of the New Sudan (CANS) that it used to fairly manage the civil population? Is SPLM presently not detached from the people unlike its former management of civil population through the CANS?
Every State Worldwide (except Vatican) is managed and governed by a political party through decisions from its political structures especially the uppermost organ. Should this be the case with our party? I believe no sane individual can answer me on affirmative mode except the sugar-coaters (excuse my language)!
Let me begin by reflecting or flushing the reader’s mind to the formation of the first government of National Unity after the death of Dr.John Garang (RIP my teacher!), I learned that there was no ‘proper’ party meeting held to arrive at a decision on how to assign some politicians and technocrats to serve at various levels of National Government, Regional Government (Southern Sudan) and lower level Governments; and importantly who to remain in the party and why. Don’t worry, that is not the worst part in our party.
The worst came when I look at my notebook on the records of our once favorite political movement and I got sickened by the internal accusations (whether they are true or not is not my job) of its members on coups years after years, follow me:
- In 2008, barely three years after the formation of the Autonomous Government of Southern Sudan, Gen. Mamur Mete and his many other comrades in the army was accused of Coup attempts. Gen. Mamur was kept under house arrest and released a year later. SPLM never thought of making a push to solve it.
- In 2009, Gen. Uyai Deng and his senior members of the army were in “rumors” accused of Coup attempt; something that informed their changes or reshuffle of that time. SPLM never thought of making an edge in solving it.
- In 2012, another important member of the party and a very close ally of the president-Gen. Majak Agoot was accused of the Coup attempt and information was everywhere even in the villages. SPLM party never proposes even a meeting to look into the cause.
- In 2013, the 1st Deputy Chairman of the party, Gen. Riek Machar was accused of Coup attempt along sides with prominent members of the party including the Secretary General-Gen.Pagan Amuom. SPLM as a party never set down to iron out the cause and a solution to such a concern and,
- In 2017, a former Chairperson of SPLM in the former Northern Bahr el Ghazal and a former Chief of General Staff of the SPLA-Gen.Paul Malong is accused of the Coup attempt and is being kept under house arrest up to date. SPLM is not concern or bothered by such a problem.
In 1991, Dr. Riek Machar and his Nasir group were accused of Coup attempt but I have selectively chosen not to talk about it because such internal rifts were solved through the Convention of 1994 which led to the agreement between Dr. Garang and the Nasir Factions in 2002. The rest of the differences were sorted in Rumbek meeting of 2004 unlike the above sequences of problems which have no party attempt to solutions leave alone making a serious decision. This bothered me to ask if SPLM is ruling the Country or just individuals running our Country!
My research has shown that SPLM is the only party in the world that has no internal will or internal mechanism of solving its own problems. According to my teacher-Albert Einstein, “insanity is doing one thing, again and again, using the same method and expects the different result.” Who is really sane here; we the members of the party who followed blindly or our leaders of the party who accused themselves every year? If SPLM really lost the direction like they always say it then when is it going to find the direction if it cannot for the last twelve years?
Justice, Liberty, and Prosperity are courtesies of SPLM movement but I think SPLM party does not understand the meaning of such vocabularies.
The statement popularly shunted during the referendum is still haunting me to date and I believe it does to the rest. “Do you want to be the first class or second class citizen in your own Country?” By the way, which class are we now under SPLM?
Before South Sudanese spit venoms of discords and hatred against their innocent diversities or nationalities and talk of being killed by Dinka, Nuer, Shilluk, Bari, Zande, Murlei, Lotuho, Madi, Mundari etc, let’s open our eyes to see SPLM party…SPLM party has turned against. It maximized and pragmatized the Divide and Rule Policy at the expense of the nation.
It set a brother against a sister, a father against a mother, a wife against a husband, a neighbor against a neighbor, a tribe against a tribe and a region against a region. Where on earth can you fight a party war fought for four years and yet badly yawning to create another one just for nothing but power retention? Let’s stop this pretentious silence! Let’s speak the truth and the truth shall set us free like it is the case in the Holy Book; John 8:32. Had SPLM learned that the response to SPLM Oyee is fading away from the public!
My party is running a Country of the poor multitudes and a few millionaires. This reminds me of J.M. Kariuki when he referred to Kenya as a “nation of 10 million beggars and 10 millionaires.” That is exactly my Country under my party. Let me conclude by prudently attacking my colleagues at University of Juba, the SPLM Students Leagues (I was a member before I left the University of Juba in 2012 for my studies in Kenya.)
My colleagues, World over; students are the most liberal and innovative members of a society and professional world. Before you start congregating every Thursday (unless it changed) under that political tree (Neem), let’s borrow a leaf of sensibility and ask ourselves, “what have we (SPLM) done to our Country?” This will remind us not to talk much about individuals but a party as a whole. Let’s speak about this vice and this balderdash raging our Country.
The number of beggars is increasing on daily basis, schools are closing in many parts of the Country leave alone the robust dropouts, food insecurity is the order of lives in our villages, our roads are completely impassive in our rural homes, everyone is forced to use the domestic flights in our Country due to insecurity which ends up enriching the few and widens their gaps with the poor,
Pleasing No Man But God and My Country!
The author is a student who completed Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Eldoret and pursuing an Associate Degree in Development Studies from the University of Eastern Africa-Baraton. He is the Secretary-General for South Sudanese Students’ Association in Kenya. Can be reached on awenbol2007@yahoo.com
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