Not Yet Uhuru for South Sudan
By Malith Alier, Perth, Australia
Saturday, 18 May, 2019 (PW) – This may come as a shock to the few South Sudanese who belief that the independence from Sudan in 2011 translated to freedom. The world does not see it that way. Believing that simply moving away from the old Sudan amounted to freedom is a subjective faith in deed.
Mzee Jaramogi Oginga Odinga discovered many years ago that the departure of the British and the subsequent independence of Kenya did not amount to freedom as claimed by some guys in the new government. He therefore, authored a book whose title I used for this piece.
The same scenario, I believe, happened to many other African nations including South Sudan the newest country in the world. For those who have not come into contact with Kiswahili, “uhuru” means freedom as the equivalent in English language.
How freedom is measured matters here. According to Freedom in the World 2018 ranking, the followings apply in the context of South Sudan:
Population: 12,700,000
Capital: Juba
Political rights rating: 7
Civil liberties rating: 7
Freedom status: Not free
Electoral democracy: No
Legend: 1 most free 7 least free
- Electoral process: 1/12
- Political pluralism and participation: 1/16
- Functioning of government: 0/12
- freedom of expression and belief: 2/16 (-2)
- Associational and organisational rights: 2/12
- Rule of law: 0/16
- Personal autonomy and individual rights: 0/16
You can see that the country scored zero or one in the A – G categories above. The above are also subdivided into subcategories in the specific areas such as the judiciary where justice is endowed.
Last Thursday, 16 May, South Sudan woke up to the 36 anniversary of the 1983 rebellion that went on for 21 years against the Khartoum regime. At least 2 million people died in the hope of gaining freedom. This is not yet realised even after 6 years of self-rule and 9 years of independence. I can add my criterion for what I believe might mean freedom to me right here:
Freedom to move
Freedom from hunger
Freedom from disease
Freedom from ignorance
Freedom to gain employment
Freedom to enjoy life to the fullest
Freedom to have a say in government
Freedom to protest unfair government policies
Next Thursday, 23 May, when 16 May is commemorated some government bigwigs will declare that the country is free. What freedom?
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