Making Sense of President Kiir, and Dr. Riek Machar Face-to-Face Meeting in Juba, South Sudan

By Deng Vanang, Kampala, Uganda

Sunday, September 15, 19 (PW) — Kiir and Machar have once again warmed up to each other bosoms, at least for now, since this future of unwilling buyer and willing seller business is increasingly less promising. Many are not fooled, except bewitched hard-line followers who resigned themselves to idiocy on every ugly twists and turns of current political dynamics.

Every thinking person knows Kiir signed a peace pact that disregards all reforms elements he never wanted. He detained his archrival Machar and virtually feeds him helpless in his open cell in Khartoum. Only to briefly release him whenever he so wishes to be frogmarched to Juba or Addis before him as he sits up tight and pretty a satisfied man in a mocking mood in dark glasses.

This man is none other than his subdued prisoner rival {Machar} whom he duped into turning on oil tapes which once ran dry. Filled with cash to the brim all pockets of possible fair thinking foreign mediators and would be sympathizers.  He beyond reasonable doubt won the war he fought long and hard for six good years against SPLM/A-IO. What is left of vanquished and disgruntled Machar is total surrender without reservation as evidenced in the recently announced transfer of IO’s H. quarters from Pow state to capital Juba.

The next thing to do to cement the newly found relationship is a wifely submission to once divorced and now reluctant husband, if she ever wishes to do dishes again in the kitchen cabinet she so adores, but with nothing in hand worth cooking therein after all.

Testimonies from civil servants working with the regime without pay in Juba are countless and frightening. Billions President Kiir secures from oil sales are currently invested in more destructive arsenals to refuel the next final round of conflict.

The rest are kept in foreign banks to win hearts of more difficult and influential friends. Such an ill motive lies in his closely guarded onslaught on what shall be nagging wife and her unwanted kids.

Issues Kiir is only worrying about now are the IO possible remnants and new Western backed SSOMs still roaming the bushes against his regime laid vulnerable by popular scepticism, depleting economic sanctions and withdrawn bilateral aid.

A reason why Kiir-Machar mutually struck deal to rope into the fake peace unwilling holdout groups didn’t come as a surprise.

They all want to empty the bushes of any nuisance to disrupt the feast that is transitional government due in mid-November.

Comrades in trench

Given their history, the duo is joined from the hip by one common denominator: the adamant objection to relinquish power to grief-stricken South Sudanese masses. Kiir brags himself hoast as founding member of liberation and independence movement, SPLM/A, Dr. John Garang’s trusted ally and father of South Sudan long sought after independence.

To him, he deserves to remain stuck up there regardless. Machar as well is not left out of Kiir’s sickening delusion. Who similarly thinks he risked a lot for this country to be rewarded as most successful field Commander before split in 1991, father of self-determination that brought the birth of a new nation and democratic reformist.

Their claims, however well placed, are singularly rubbished by justification that chefs are mandated to cook for others and not merely themselves. Kiir’s claims should only stand the test of time if only he respects the hopes and aspirations rooted in popular liberation struggle and subsequent independence.

Machar on the other hand couldn’t continue dwelling on his decayed past of being brainchild behind independence, but present democratic ideals he is now abandoning for harsh dictatorial practices under Kiir.

Delusion

The two gentlemen in the thick of crisis don’t do what they continue doing voluntarily. Their minds are deluded by self-interested personality cults surrounding them.

Kiir is captive to self-imposed JCE of bygone era of 1960’s.

Whose aim to hover around him is driven by greed to amass personal wealth and promotion of an ethno-nationalism by striking concocted South Sudanese anti-Dinka fear in President Kiir so as to remain relevant in both Dinka local and nationwide politics.

Seeing such self-preservation and destructive agenda being shrewdly planned and executed in their name, many Dinka wised up sections are leaving him in droves and quickly. People of Aweil, the backbone of his fighting force, are warming up to SSUF under General Paul Malong Awan against his besieged regime.

Bor and Abyei Ngok Dinka whose land is traded off to Sudan for Kiir shaky political survival have their Red Card Movement {RCM} set up in Kiir’s very own Presidential Palace. Padang in Greater Upper Nile are now beating a hasty retreat from the charge they took on their Lou and Jikany Nuer neighbors, fearing a reprisal in case the country is returned to 10 states.

What Kiir previously saw as a an ethnic battleship against the Nuer and other South Sudanese is in fact a house of clay built on short term opportunistic interest to cave in faster than expected. His former archrival turned new ally, Dr. Riek Machar falls in the same dark hole he is starring in the face.

Machar is now a willing prisoner to his Western Nuer’s Dok clan.

His defeat, detention and open nepotism make him vulnerable to insistent calls of resignation in IO by prominent leaders from Jikany, Lou and Gawaar Nuer. This is all thanks to successful Nuer social media propaganda warfare waged against him and made the Diaspora communities withdraw confidence in and financial assistance to him.

Maiwut ongoing internal conflict, which is soon to engulf the whole Gajaak country, also deprives him of traditional strongest hold and safe haven as the command post of his every rebellion.

Without Maiwut Machar can’t geo-politically connect with Eastern Nuer Gaguang and Gajiok in Greater Nasir and neither Lou nor Gawaar in central Nuer. His home state, Unity has already been reduced to tiny rival fractions fighting for spoils of war commanded by Bul and Western Jikany Nuers.

With Leek already divided between him and other opposition groups, as battle-hardened Nyuongs are confined in their own war of self-defense against the predating Juba regime. It is only three southern area clans of Dok, Haak and Jagei still solidly lined up behind him, but access to necessary logistics to keep afloat remains the usual nightmare.

Not forgetting their serious lack of white army, with potentially fighting young men having virtually fled to surrounding internal displaced and refugee camps in the neighboring countries.

Colo firmly under General Johnson Olony is a semi-autonomous group fighting mainly for land rights and whose stand can only be determined by the way states are reconstituted or left as they were originally ten in number.

Equatorians, Fertits and Luos cannot ill-afford to give up their war for freedom and land rights in order to install one Dr. Riek Machar in the enslaving position of JCE’s failed state.

Sudan got a new government that inherited flourishing economic concessions from South Sudan’s oil to explore more opportunities for a required development Sudanese citizens want than riskier strategic adventures in neighboring countries. To this end, Kiir and Machar political kingdoms are indeed shrinking and dying on every passing day.

The author, Deng Vanang, is the Secretary-General of UDRM/A inside SSOMs and can be reached via his email: deng vanang <dvanang@gmail.com>

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