Sultan Chuot Makur Chuot: The youngest law graduate of South Sudan
By Deng Chuor Goldit, Nairobi, Kenya
April 30, 2018 (PW) — Here is a young man who still have hope for South Sudan. Chuot Makur Chuot still believe there is still “something” special about South Sudan regardless of its current trail of failures. He believes that this “something” should prompt every young patriotic South Sudanese to stand up and dedicate their lives to raising their voices and speak for Justice for their nation. Moulana Chuot, South Sudan’s youngest law graduate lost his father at a very young age during the events of the liberation struggles; a lost which the 26 year old still mourn deeply but believe to have planted an immense love for his people even at a very young age.Early life
Chuot Makur was born in the village of Pagarau, 24 km from Yirol Township, to Makur Chuot Chep and Rose Acingoth Makur. His father was a chief and later appointed by late Dr. John Garang de Mabior as a judge of Yirol where he works at the local court. A few years after he lost his father, his uncle took him to start his primary school at Comboni Primary, a missionary school in Mapuordit village.
Young Chuot did 5 years in Mapuordit before he transferred to complete his primary education in Yirol’s Holy Cross Comboni School. At this point, Chuot was slowly growing in wisdom and had started to understand what was going on in South Sudan and how the situation was impacting on so many people.
It bogged his mind that there were no secondary schools nearly cross the entire nation and that only those who had kind-hearted rich relatives could go outside the country to continue their education.
Life in Uganda
Chuot’s good uncle called him aside one day and told him that he was taking him to start his secondary school in Uganda. This news bought mixed emotions in the young lad. First he was excited that he had the opportunity to continue his studies. But inside him was a cry for all his friends and other relatives who weren’t able to continue their education.
It was hammered into young Chuot that his failure in Uganda would mean a total lost of his dead father’s great name. This invigorated him in the quest to be someone remarkable not only for his father’ sake but also for the sake of his friends and in fact for the suffering nation of South Sudan. He describes his time at Margret Secondary School and Emma High School in Kampala Uganda as a life changing experience.
It was here that he went through a life that demanded for answers for what was going on in his beloved homeland. Uganda, a relatively peaceful society, gave Chuot an experience of life from a totally different angle. He was able to see a world of possibilities and a world full of opportunity and he concluded that peace and freedom are the basis for any nation that claims to be independent.
He dedicated himself wholeheartedly to his education and slowly, he develop an interest for law as he came to believe that for anything to work in life, the Rule of Law must be the pillar on which one hang their most precious gifts of peace and freedom.
Through his hard work, commitment and absolute dedication, he did quite well at the eve of his secondary education.
Law studies
When he got the opportunity to continue his education into university, Chuot chose to study law. He moved to Nairobi Kenya in 2014 and was accepted to Mount Kenya University where he started his Bachelor of Law. When asked why he fell in love with law, young Chuot responded “because it’s a course that impacts life on daily basis and I believe with my legal knowledge I can be able to influence the society to bring change.”
The young lawyer also believe that legal knowledge is important. Even if one ends up not practicing law as a career, legal knowledge gives one an opportunity to defend the importance of the Rule of law as well as fight for justice. Chuot gradated in December 2017, an event he describe as God’s own plan.
A young man with a big heart
While at university, Chuot dedicated a lot of his free time to charity works alongside his studies. Some of his most memorable times working for charity include his time in the Kibera slums of Nairobi where he offered legal Aid pro bono to the residents of one of the world’s biggest slum. Chuot describes the experience as challenging but fulfilling because he “was doing something good for fellow humans.”
Chuot loves challenging himself to the best of his ability. When the opportunity offered itself to help World Food Program (WFP) in Kakuma Refugee Camp with a project, Chuot was one of the first to take up the challenge. He volunteered to conduct a research on Cash Base Transfer (CBT) program with WFP in Kakuma and Kalobeyei respectively; a project base on feeding program of refugees.
The young man seem to have been born a leader from the point go. During his first days of university, he served as a Secretary General of Greater Yirol Youth Union in Kenya upon election by the community youth from 2014-2016. Most of his aristocrats remember and treasure his contribution to the life of young South Sudanese generally across Nairobi and beyond.
He served them through South Sudanese Student Association in Kenya (SSSAK) where he helped drafted the Act that paved the way for establishment of SSSAK Interim leadership. Chuot believes it is important to give what you have and for him, it is his talent and exceptional people’ skills.
He has enslaved himself to compassion which has become driving forcing to look out for any suffering South Sudanese. He goes out of his way to protect the integrity that belongs to a human person because he believes South Sudanese have already had enough suffering and that anything he can do to relief these immeasurable suffering he will.
He feels there is untold hypocrisy going on among the current leaders of South Sudan. There are obvious reasons why the young lawyer believes this. Once upon a time, the current leaders portrayed their love for the nation and everyone in the country trusted them. But apparently they had raised false hope in their people.
Chuot feels that his people “have been betrayed by those who once portrayed to be their liberators that raised their hopes that they are finally free from oppressive rule of Sudan and now their own sons shattered their hopes for fundamental principles of good governance.” But despite all the paradoxical realities in South Sudan; of extreme poverty vs extreme rich gangs in the government, extreme sufferings of the ordinary citizens vs first class J1 life style, Chuot still has hope.
He has hope and he believe that South Sudanese people are born with natural strength which has enabled them to defeat any difficulties thrown at them. He believes that his people are special and unique because “They are very strong people with tendency of perseverance of hardship and they will respond to the current sufferings that seem unending.”
And with these capabilities and amazing qualities of the South Sudanese people, young Chuot believes that time has come for them to come up with a solution once and for all to end the unnecessary sufferings. “I am hopeful” he says “that our people are seeking for change now and it’s with this I equivocally call them to stand up and end the current leadership that has brought about the deplorable situation in our country.”
What has disappoint the young lawyer the most is the level of inhumane catastrophic conditions that the country has been plunged into by its leadership. This has been manifested by the despicable suffering of the people, the lack of political will to compromise on issues that affect the people and the impunity of committing atrocities without being justified. He says that all this has come about because of the lack of the rule of law.
One of the strongest views that this young man holds is on the importance of democracy. He believes that a person only flourishes when placed under freedom. This freedom comes through democratic rule because of the liberty it offers. Democracy give a citizen power to enjoy freedom rightly.
“The significance of democracy” he says “is that power entrusted on individual by the majority can be withdrawn by these same majority upon the gross violations of the principles of which the power was bestowed on you.”
When not thinking of suffering people of his homeland, Chuot employs himself to reading and sports. He enjoys playing Play Station (PS) with friends and follows the English Premier league closely when it’s in season. His love for South Sudan however is immeasurable.
His friends and many young people that know him see something great in his future. He is a man full of hope and looks positively to the future of his country.
Regards
You can reach the author via his email: dmcgoldit@gmail.com
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