An Open Letter to President Kiir: The Deteriorating Insecurity between Apaak and Agaar communities

An Open Letter to H.E Salva Kiir Mayardit, the President of the Republic of South Sudan on the Deteriorating Insecurity between Apaak community of Eastern Lakes State and Agaar community of Western Lakes State.

By Majok Gang Nek Lang, Nairobi, Kenya

Friday, May 31, 2019 (PW) — Your Excellency, I believe you will not mind my scant courtesy. It is due to the sense of urgency with which I am writing this letter. However, it does not take away from you the very high regards that many peace loving youth of this country have for you. That is not to say that there are not many who are pathologically opposed to your person and will therefore not see anything good in your policies and efforts in making South Sudan a peaceful and cohesive nation for her people with diverse religious and socio-economic backgrounds.

While one may ignore this category of naysayers, there is this other category you must not ignore. They are those who wear faces that make them identify with you and what you are advocating for. Peaceful South Sudan when they found themselves in an unfortunate situation of having to see you in the eye, and after they successfully make you believe that they are true to your course (I am by no chance accusing you of being a poor judge of character Mr. president), they retire to their bases and take off their masks and do contrary things that make you look like a failed leader in the eyes of pessimists and the aliens.  

Mr. president, I am pretty sure you must have been made to believe that all is the way you would want it to be across the 32 states and in particular in Eastern Lakes State by my governor, Gen. Mangar Buong Aluenge in his recent visit to Juba but as I write this, vulnerable people of Aluak-luak and Geer counties of Eastern Lakes State which domicile the Apaak people are being slain, houses burned and property looted by the neighboring community of Agaar and nothing is being done by the state’s government to suppress the situation.

For the last three days alone, over 20 houses have been set ablaze, people to the north of 20 killed including active servicemen and women and a number of property looted.  The person you charged with the administrative powers in the state has miserably failed to discharge his primary duty and the people suffering as a result are the Apaak people who are very unfortunate to be bordering the Agaar community of Rumbek and your good name because every disaster in this country is blamed on you by the oppositions.

Mr. President, I am reaching out to your peace loving self to intervene in this inter-communal conflict between Apaak of Eastern Lakes State and Agaar of Rumbek East who have invaded Aluak-luak and Geer counties. I am also asking you to never trust my governor, Gen. Mangar Buong Aluenge, to feed you with the credible information regarding the security situation in Eastern Lakes State for he has chosen to fight the historical wars of his Naam community since you entrusted him with governorship of Eastern Lakes State.

That has been evidenced by his part in handling a conflict between Naam, where he hails and Lïth, historical opponents of Naam and his treatment of Apaak community who famously fought his community of Naam in the war between kuec and Apaak in 1940s. Something you must have heard. As a result of the gubernatorial tribally-induced sensitivity pertaining inter-communal conflicts, the Apaak people are threatening to break away from Eastern Lakes State and appeal to your peace loving self to grant them an administrative area if the governor does not wake up to his responsibilities and protect lives and property.

Mr. President, I am not asking you to sack my governor, Mangar Buong Aluenge but rather, I am asking you to take the responsibility to ensure that the security situation between Apaak and Agaar community is neutralized. This can only be possible if you have my governor choose between working for you and the people of Eastern Lakes State and working as a paramount chief of Naam where he comes from.

At the moment, the displaced people in Aluak-luak and Geer counties are languishing under trees with no food and shelter in a rainy season and all they could hear of their governor, the only person who can rescue them flew out to Kampala, Uganda. Leaving them with an ailing old man who cannot even stand on his feet as a commissioner charged with protecting them.

In a nutshell Mr. President, I would like to commend your efforts in finding a lasting peace for the people of South Sudan and it’s my conviction that the only person that can see that through in your generation is you, comrade Salva Kiir Mayardit but the only way you can realize that is to be ruthless.

You have done that in Western Lakes State with governor Deng Mamer who was just under 5 months as a governor less than two weeks ago because he was not what you thought he was and you can do that to any governor across the 32 states who is not serving your will and that of the people you fought for In your quest for a just, peaceful and equal opportunity for the people of the then Sudan which gave birth to the hard-earned Republic of South Sudan.

Long Live H.E Salva Kiir Mayardit

Long Live SPLM

Long Live The Republic of South Sudan.

The author is a post graduate student of governance, peace and security at Africa Nazarene University, Nairobi, Kenya and he can be reached via email: jannagang@gmail.com

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