Tributes to Gen. Atem Aguang – One of the Most Iconic and Heroic Commanders of the Liberation Struggle

Remembering Gen. Atem Aguang Atem-Banyelok: Eulogy and Tributes in Living Memory of Gen. Atem Aguang Atem, One of the Most Iconic and Heroic SPLM/SPLA Commanders of the Liberation Struggle

By PaanLuel Wël, Juba, South Sudan

1. Introduction

Friday, September 27, 2019 (PW) – Tomorrow, on Saturday, 28 September 2019, the final funeral rites of Maj. Gen. Atem Aguang Atem Deng, who passed away on May 27, 2019, will be conducted at his home, near Giada Military Hospital and opposite Medan Simba, in Juba, South Sudan. The Late Gen. Atem Aguang Atem-Banyelok was one of the most iconic and heroic commanders of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/SPLA)’s war of the liberation struggle in South Sudan. Gen. Atem Aguang participated in most of the historic and fierce battles that defined, shaped and determined the ultimate success of the liberation struggle, leading to the eventual independence of the Republic of South Sudan on July 9, 2011. For his boundless bravery and immense contributions to the successes of the SPLM/SPLA in the battlefields, he was immortalized, alongside his comrades-in-arm, in one of the most legendary and inspirational songs of the liberation struggle, by the renowned artist, Ustaz Panchol Deng Ajang, one of the greatest musicians of the liberation era: 

“Atëm Aguang acï thɔ̈ɔ̈rë Parajɔk

Ee Jallab köök cïkë kuath wut

Ku Deng-Madööt atɔ̈u thïn ku Ajak ë Yen

Bïkkë yup cë kä kuath ɣɔ̈k

Dhubɛɛt kuɔ aye mëën

Alueel Yïndïpenden ye wɛɛn Commando One

Kuka lueel Brigade One ye lɛ̈ny Commando Six

Jesh ye riŋ tɔŋ ke ɣou

Ke pam ë thok, athäär ke Dhubɛɛt cie döŋciɛ̈ɛ̈n

Jesh ë Bäny Oyai Deng

Dhubɛɛt kor we cä bë waan

Yïn Daniel Atong, ku Awet Ajing

Döm de Parajɔk ku Awïny

Ciennë jɔ wëi lɔ dhuk

Dunde mɔidït adhiaau

Baŋö jaa looi të jɔl ë keem bɛɛr miööt

Ke Nhialic anhiëër ke dun ëye lɔ̈ŋ

Ye Meerï cool luaak ke cɔ̈t bë lɔ abï dhiaau

Yeeŋö bë ye wëëny ë piny abë tɔ̈u

Ku kuc mandɛ̈ ke cä Atëm bë gam

Ee moi bë wɛɛr roor, adɔ̈ŋ ɣäudheer piny ku tweliib

Ku Dabɛɛb ku agut cä arabiiy ken ke cäth

Chol ë Thɔn athäär cë Chol ë Lual

Dhubɛɛt ke OJS aayï Malual Ayɔɔm

Atëmda athäär ku Deng-Madööt, Macɔk Atëm ku Jɔk Riääk, ku CDR

In that song, Comrade Panchol Deng Ajang celebrated the battlefield accolades of the then Alternate Commander (A/CDR) Atem Aguang during the 1995 Operation Jungle Storm (OJS) military campaigns in Eastern Equatoria, under the overall command of CDR Oyai Deng Ajak, CDR Pieng Deng Kuol, CDR James Hoth Mai, and CDR Isaac Mamur Mete, that overran and captured Parajok (25 Oct. 1995), Owiny-Kibul (26 Oct. 1995), Palotaka and Magwi (27 Oct. 1995), and Oboo, Panyikwara, Ame, Moli, Pageri, Loa and Kit in November 1995. In full recognition of and appreciation for his exemplary battlefield courage, bravery and sacrifices, A/CDR Atem Aguang was promoted to the rank of a full Military Commander (CDR). What made those military victories so outstanding and historic in the living memory of the people of South Sudan was the fact that those monumental feats came at the darkest hours and the weakest moments in the entire history of the liberation struggle following the 1991 Nasir coup by Riek Machar and Lam Akol. Before the Nasir coup, the SPLM/SPLA had successfully liberated about three-quarters of southern Sudan, with the exception of Western Equatoria and the three garrison cities of Juba, Wau and Malakal that were under military siege.

After the Nasir coup, the SPLM/SPLA virtually lost all the liberated towns with the exception of Boma and Nimule. It is also to be noted that defense of Nimule Border Post was hinged on the fierce battles that were fought at Aswa Bridge in which the late Gen. Atem Aguang Atem was the commanding officer in the fore trenches. The fate of the liberation struggle, along with the age-old aspiration of the people of South Sudan, was hanging precariously at the precipice of total defeat by Khartoum. The successful defense of Nimule Border Post by the late Gen. Atem Aguang and his colleagues under overall command of CDR Oyai Deng Ajak in 1994 gave a break to seemly unrelenting strings of military victories of the enemy over the SPM/SPLA. As a consequence of masterminding a debilitating disruption of enemy’s advances, the tides of military victories turned against Khartoum and the following year saw the recapture of the military bases that were lost to the enemy. As the lead field commander of those pivotal military operations in October 1995, the very survival of the movement, and the fate of the people of Southern Sudan, was placed on the shoulders of the late Gen. Atem Aguang. Those decisive military operations eternally etched his name into the living memory of the people of South Sudan.

In those particular military campaigns, unlike hitherto military operations, the movement won substantial and direct support from regional leaders such as Isaias Afewerki of Eritrea, Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, all of whom sent war materials and soldiers to aid the SPLM/SPLA in Eastern Equatoria. Eritrean and Ethiopian soldiers were mainly concentrated among the engineering corps, military reconnaissance and heavy artilleries, while Ugandan soldiers were embedded among the SPLA soldiers at the front lines, fighting side by side. As the senior field commander, A/CDR Atem Aguang became acquainted with, and a lifelong friend to, the field commanders from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Uganda. It was this extended military family, comprising of senior military leaders from Uganda and South Sudan, forged at the front lines during the war of liberation, which re-emerged at the death bed of Gen. Atem Aguang in Kampala to give him a befitting send off in memory of, and in tributes to, their gargantuan tribulations during military operations in Eastern Equatoria.

2. Death and Burial

Before his death in May 2019, Gen. Atem Aguang had been ill for about five months, commencing around December 2018, and was admitted in Kampala, Uganda. Hours before his demise, he had phoned his eldest son, Aguang Atem Aguang, in Juba to enquire whether Aguang was done with his mission in Juba and when he might be returning to Kampala. It was Aguang who had taken him to Uganda for further treatment and Aguang had only returned to Juba at the advice of his father to follow up on a promising job opportunity with the National Revenue Authority (NRA). Upon receiving the call that morning from his dad, Aguang was worried and thus enquired anxiously: “Is everything okay with you, father?” Gen. Atem Aguang responded by assuring his eldest son that there was nothing to worry about, and then added, “Come back quickly once you are done with your mission in Juba.”

That last conversation took place at 12pm and then, three hours later, he passed away, surrounded by his kids, wife, and members of the extended family. Madam Adaau-Mathiang, the wife of Gen. Gier Chuang Aluong, and Madam Adaau Kongor, the wife of Gen. Atem Zakaria Duot, had gone to the hospital that very day on a regular visit and were present at the bedside when Gen. Atem Aguang breathed his last. It was Madam Adau-Mathiang who broke the sad news to her husband, Gen. Gier Chuang, Gen. Mach Paul and Comrade Majier Abdalla, all of whom responded promptly. They went to the hospital and took full charge of the situation, alongside family members such as Mr. Aguer Bol Kuir-Guuk and Mr. Adoor Manyok.

Firstly, Gen. Gier Chuang contacted Juba and communicated the sad news to Mama Rebecca Nyandeng, Hon. Deng Dau Deng Malek, Dr. Majak Agot Atem, Gen. Bior Ajang Duot (Bior-Asuot) and Gen. Bior Kuir Deng (Bior-Matoto). Mama Rebecca Nyandeng and Dr. Majak Agot Atem informed the president accordingly. Secondly, Gen. Gier Chuang, who is widely known among the military and intelligence circles of the Ugandan government, contacted and informed Ugandan authorities about the passing of Gen. Atem Aguang. As already explained above, Gen. Atem Aguang was well-known to the senior officers of the Ugandan army and military intelligence dating back to the war of liberation when SPLM/SPLA used to conduct joint military operations in Eastern Equatoria against both the Lord Resistance Army (LRA) and Khartoum regime. Therefore, when Gen. Gier Chuang informed the Ugandan military about the demise of Gen. Atem Aguang, Brig. Gen. Richard of the UPDF immediately recognized him as one of those SPLA field commanders he, and the Late Gen. Kazini, had conducted joint military operations in the 1990s. The UPDF’s chief of general staff therefore ordered Gen. Richard to escort the body, with a full military squadron, to the border. He also provided all the help requested by Gen. Gier Chuang, including a military ambulance with an escort, and two buses to transport the mourners to South Sudan; some of the Ugandan military leaders extended financial and moral support to the family in their own personal capacities.

On their parts, Gen. Gier Chuang and Comrade Majier Abdalla took the body to the mortuary at Mengo Hospital, and paid for the services, including the preservation of the body. Gen. Gier Chuang also provided two Land Cruisers for ground transport, while Comrade Majier Abdalla offered three Land Cruisers to facilitate ground transport for the members of the extended family and relatives, colleagues and comrades, of Gen. Atem Aguang, who were going to Juba by road to receive the body at the airport and to attend requiem and the burial. Accompanied by a platoon of the Ugandan army, the body was transported from Kampala to Nimule where it was received by Gen. Bior-Matoto, who was delegated by the government of South Sudan to receive the body at the border and to airlift it to Juba with a military helicopter.

Meanwhile in Juba, family members and relatives, friends and comrades, members of Kongor community and national leaders from Jonglei state, thronged the home of Gen. Atem Aguang at Jebel, opposite Medan Simba. Among the leaders were Mama Rebecca Nyandeng Chol Atem, Gen. Bior Ajang Duot (Bior-Asuot), Hon. Michael Makwei Lueth, Hon. Deng Dau Deng Malek, Dr. Majak Agot Atem, Gen. Mach Paul Kuol Awar, Gen. Bior Kuir Deng (Bior-Matoto), and communities’ leaders from Jonglei state. While they had come to offer their heartfelt condolences and to console the family, the main agenda became the burial arrangement, particularly the town and place to inter Gen. Atem Aguang. Mama Rebecca Nyandeng broached the subject when she asked the family about the burial location. For the family, the general consensus was that Gen. Atem Aguang was to be buried at Pakuor village in Kongor, among his ancestors, as per the Dinka customs. “Aguangdit acë thou roor ku thiäk roor; A/CDR Deng Aguang was killed and buried in Chukudum. At least, we as a family wanted my father to be airlifted to and buried in Kongor, among his ancestors,” explained Aguang Atem Aguang, the eldest son of Gen. Atem Aguang. However, that suggestion from the family didn’t go down well with the national and community leaders of Jonglei state who had gathered at the home of the deceased to deliberate on the burial arrangement.

Mama Nyandeng declared that Gen. Atem Aguang was a freedom fighter and a national leader, and should therefore be accorded the status of a national hero in burial. That stance from Mama Rebecca Nyandeng was embraced and projected by majority of community leaders from Kongor and national leaders from Jonglei state. It was argued that Gen. Atem Aguang was not just a war hero but also a government official, a military leader, who fell sick and died while on active duty. Therefore, the family was advised to wait and hear first from the government of South Sudan regarding the final resting place for Gen. Atem Aguang. It was decided that if there were no word from the government in Juba, then the government of Jonglei state would first be given a chance for they had requested to have Gen. Atem Aguang buried at Malual-Chat military barrack in Bor. If there were no plans in place from the national government in Juba and state government in Bor, then the family of Atem-Banyelok would have the honor to have Gen. Atem Aguang Atem-Banyelok buried at Pakuor village, among his ancestors, as per the Dinka customs.

Mama Rebecca Nyandeng told the gathering that the first option, Plan A, would be to hear first from the government of South Sudan if they had any plan in place for the final resting place for Gen. Atem Aguang; the second option, Plan B, would be to go with the popular demand of the people of Jonglei state to have Gen. Atem Aguang interred at Malual-Chat Military Barack, the historical place where the first bullet was fired on the 16^th of May, 1983, in Bor, and that the third option, Plan C, would be the plan from the family to have Gen. Atem Aguang airlifted to Kongor and buried at the family ancestral home in Pakuor village. “The president is leaving for Kenya today and I have an appointment with him,” Mama Rebecca Nyandeng told Gen. Bior-Asuot. “Your assignment is to contact Gen. Kuol Manyang Juuk. You guys need to be extra careful because it is easy for history to be lost, never to be recovered. It is Atem today, and you guys are next in line; so ye raan jam ke ngic raan where we are all heading to. Talk to Kuoldit and let me go and talk to Kiirdit.” Gen. Kuol Manyang had gone to Kenya as part of the advance team to receive the president.

Subsequently, Mama Rebecca Nyandeng contacted President Kiir who was scheduled to leave for Kenya in three hours. The President made room for, and met with, Mama Rebecca Nyandeng and consequently pledged government’s full support, including offering the Martyrs’ Ground for the burial of Gen. Atem Aguang. Before his departure to Kenya that afternoon, the President instructed the 1^st Vice President, Gen. Taban Deng Ghai, to offer full support of the government – including receiving the body at the airport and overseeing the burial process at the Martyrs’ Ground, a place near Jebel Kujur where the former six bodyguards of Dr. John Garang, who perished with him in the helicopter crash, were buried in August 2005. As Gen. Atem Aguang was the one who located and recovered the charred bodies from the crash site in July 2005, fate had it that he was going to rest together with his former comrades for eternity.

3. Family Background

The Late Maj. Gen. Atem Aguang Atem hailed from the prominent family of Ustaz Aguang Atem Deng from Kongor (Apioloch, Pan-Alek, Pan-Achalai), Twi Dinka community in Jonglei state, South Sudan.  Gen. Atem Aguang was born on the 1^st of January 1960 at the town of Duk-Payuel (Duk-Deng), in Jonglei State, South Sudan. He was the first-born son – and the third child from the second wife – of Ustaz Aguang Atem Deng, who had nine (9) wives, thirty-four (34) children and hundreds of grandchildren and great grandchildren.

The first wife of Ustaz Aguang Atem-Banyelok (Aheec-Dhoor) was Mama Alek Akuei Atem (Duk, Nyarweng), with whom they were blessed with only one daughter, Apul Aguang Atem (Apul-Marialdit Atuur), who is married to Ajok Atem (Maar, Pakeer).

His second wife, the biological mother of Gen. Atem Aguang, was Mama Bion Riak Makol (Kolnyang, Guala, Agok) with whom they were blessed with eight (8) children – four boys and four girls. By order of birth, the eight (8) children from the second wife are:  Mrs. Apul Aguang Atem, who is married to Mr. Makeer Yolo (Baidit, Pathuyith, Ajiing); Mrs. Amuor Aguang Atem who is married to the late Mr. Kon Nul Bior (Wangulei, Ayual, Pawiir); the Late Gen. Atem Aguang Atem, who is married to Mrs. Amer Jok Ayii (Jalle, Juet, Jangdor); the Late CDR Deng Aguang Atem, who was married to Mrs. Hellen Ujang (Torit, Lokoyo) and Mrs. Athok Makuach Deng (Wernyol, Adhiok, Pakoy); the Late Mrs. Adhieu Aguang Atem; the Late Mr. Chol Aguang Atem; Mr. Mabior Aguang Atem (currently in Australia) who is married to Achol Barach Kuany (Kongor, Padol), and lastly, Mr. Bul Aguang Atem who is also in Australia. The third wife of Ustaz Aguang Atem-Banyelok (Aheec-Dhoor) was Mama Nyankuer Lueth Atem (Wangulei, Ayual, Achath), with whom they were blessed with only one daughter, Mrs. Apul Aguang Atem (Apul-Nyangok).

The fourth wife was Mama Adau Ajang-Cham Aguer (Kongor, Pan-Bior) with whom they were blessed with six (6) children – five girls and one son, namely, Mrs. Apul Aguang Atem (Apul-Nyayong); Mrs Amuor Aguang Atem (Amuor-Thii); Mr. Atem Aguang Atem (Atem-Agutmading); Mrs. Ayen Aguang Atem (Ayen-thii); Mrs. Yar Aguang Atem, and Mrs. Adhieu Aguang Atem. The fifth wife was Mama Abuol Deng Achol (Anyidi, Palek, Herjok) with whom they were blessed with eight (8) children, one boy and seven girls, including double twins: First twins – Mrs. Apul Aguang Atem (Apul-Ageer) and the late Mr. Atem Aguang Atem; the late Mrs. Nyibol Aguang Atem; Mrs. Achol Aguang Atem; the late Mrs. Adau Aguang Atem; Mrs. Ayen Aguang Atem (Ayen-Koor), and the second twins – the late Mrs. Athok Aguang Atem and Mrs. Adit Aguang Atem. From the sixth wife, Mama Yar Agueet Yuang (Baidit, Pathuyith, Aliab), the family of Ustaz Aguang Atem-Banyelok (Aheec-Dhoor) was blessed with four (4) children – three boys and one girl. These are the late Mrs. Amam Aguang Atem; Mr. Chol Aguang Atem who holds a Bachelor of Science in Social Science and CIA; Mr. Achiek Aguang Atem who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Education and currently pursuing MBA, and lastly Mr. Deng Aguang Atem (Deng-thii) who holds Masters of Science in Petroleum Geoscience.

The seventh wife was Mama Aman Thiaka Anyang (Anyidi, Palek, Pakoom) with whom they were blessed with three (3) children – one boy and two girls, namely, Mr. Atem Aguang Atem (Atem-Mayom), the late Mrs. Apul Aguang Atem and Mrs. Achol Aguang Atem. His eighth wife was Mama Nyanwut Atoor Mayen (Jalle, Aboudit, Tiit-Dior) with whom they were blessed with three (3) children – two boys and one girl: the late Mr. Atem Aguang Atem, the late Apul Aguang Atem and Mr. Deng Aguang Atem (Deng-Mugisto). Lastly, the ninth wife of Ustaz Aguang Atem-Banyelok (Aheec-Dhoor) was Mama Tiir Ayol Ajak (Kolnyang, Biong, Nai-Aduong) with whom they had no child.            

The Late Gen. Atem Aguang Atem-Banyelok is survived by two wives – Madam Amer Jok Ayii Jok (Jalle, Juet, Jangdor) and Madam Yaar Bona Kook (Yirol, Atuot, Apaak) – and seven children, comprising of four boys and three girls, plus a dozen of grandchildren. From his first wife, Madam Amer Jok Ayii Jok, whose uncle was the late SPLM/SPLA Commander Thon Ayii Jok, the family was blessed with six children, four boys and two girls. The first-born child of the late Gen. Atem Aguang is Mr. Aguang Atem Aguang Atem who graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration. He is married to (1) Mrs. Kuei Moses Panchol Garang (Anyidi, Palek) with whom they are blessed with a son, Atem Aguang Atem Aguang Atem Deng, and (2) Mrs. Achol Mading Atem Ayuel (Kongor, Biordit, Anyang) with whom they are blessed with another son, Deng Aguang Atem Aguang Atem Deng – both of which demonstrate a typical interplay of the Dinka customary naming system.

The second child is Mrs. Apul Atem Aguang Atem who holds a Bachelor of Information Technology and is married to Molana Anyang Ngong Ayuen (Jalle, Aboudit, Pen). The third child is Ms. Amuor Atem Aguang Atem who graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration and is married to Mr. Alor Awet Alor (Abyei, Ngok Dinka, Abior). The fourth born are the twin boys – Kongor Atem Aguang Atem who is presently pursuing Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering, and Deng Atem Aguang Atem who is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. The last-born is Bol D’Achuek – Bol Atem Aguang Atem – who is still pursuing his secondary school education. From the second wife, Madam Yar Bona Kook (Yirol, Atuot, Apaak), Gen. Atem Aguang was blessed with one child – Ms. Bion Atem Aguang Atem, who is still pursuing her primary school education. The late is also survived by five grand kids, all boys – Deng and Atem Aguang Atem, Ayuen and Nhial Apul Atem and Deng Amuor Atem.

4. Childhood and Education

The extended family of Mzee Atem-Banyelok was among the earliest families in Kongor community to embrace western education. The two eldest sons of Atem-Banyelok – Duot Atem Deng, the father of Maj. Gen. Atem Zakaria, and Aguang Atem Deng, the father of the late Gen. Atem Aguang and the late CDR Deng Aguang – were both educated and this education was later imparted to their kids who later made tremendous contributions to the liberation of South Sudan. This culture of, and the love for, education within the extended family of Atem-Banyelok came about through Grand-Aunt Apul Atem-Banyelok, the eldest child of the family, who was married to Mzee Garang Bany Atem (Kongor, Pan-Bior), the father of Gen. Deng Garang Bany, the composer of SPLM/PLA “Oyee” slogan, who was among the founders of the movement, having trekked from Malakal to Ethiopia together with Lt. Col. Francis Ngor-Makiech and Captain Salva Kiir Mayardit.

Mzee Garang Bany Atem, who later became the right-hand man to Paramount Chief Ajang Duot Bior, was an ex-soldier during the Turco-Egyptian reign in the Sudan and was reported to have participated in the 1^st world war. Because of his prior exposure to the outside world, he was among the first generation of Dinka elders to appreciate the importance of missionary education. Therefore, he enrolled his nephews in school, and it was this appreciation of education that compelled his wife, Apul Atem-Banyelok, to plead with her father to allow his two younger brothers – Duot and Aguang – to be enrolled in school together with her kids. That was how Ustaz Aguang Atem-Banyelok (Aheec-Dhoor) became educated and got trained as a professional teacher in the 1960s, and was posted to Rabek, a small town near the provincial city of Kosti, Central Sudan, at the height of the Anyanya one war of liberation.  

It was in Rabek that the late Gen. Atem Aguang spent his childhood and where he commenced his early education. Between 1968 and 1969, young Atem was matriculated at Rabek Kindergarten (nursery school) at the age of 8 and then to primary school in Kosti. After the transfer of Ustaz Aguang Atem to Malakal, Southern Sudan, following the Aheec-Dhoor travesty, the late Gen. Atem Aguang continued with his primary school studies at Dar el Salaam primary school, Malakal town, in 1974. For his junior high school, he studied at Bor Junior secondary school, Bor town, between 1975 and 1977, during the era of the Juba-based High Executive Council government of Justice Abel Alier Kwai and Gen. Joseph Lagu Yanga, after the signing of the Addis Ababa Accord (AAA). For senior high school, he matriculated at Malakal Senior secondary school, Malakal town, where he became a classmate of Gen. Thomas Chirilo Swaka from 1978 to 1980.

S/No.	Schools attended	Year	Location
1	Rabek Kindergarten	1968-1969	Kosti, Northern Sudan
2	Dar el Salaam Primary School	1974-1975	Malakal town
3	Bor Junior Secondary School	1975-1977	Bor town
4	Malakal Senior Secondary School	1978-1980	Malakal town
5	College of Medicine, University of Cairo (opted to join SPLM/SPLA)	1983-	Cairo, Egypt
6	University of Juba	2009-2012	Juba city

After high school, the late Gen. Atem Aguang went back to Kongor and taught at Pakuor primary school, near his ancestral home, between 1981 and 1982. At the outbreak of the second civil war in May 1983, the late Gen. Atem Aguang was admitted at the College of Medicine, University of Cairo, in Egypt; however, he abandoned his plane ticket to Cairo and went to the bush to fight for the liberation of his people under the banner of the SPLM/SPLA. After the conclusion of the armed liberation struggle, following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in January 2005, and after having led the first SPLM/SPLA’s battalion in a triumphant entry into Juba city in August 2005, he went back to school in 2009 and graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Rural Development at Juba University.

4. Joining the Armed Liberation Struggle

The late Gen. Atem Aguang was among the first waves of students and southern intellectuals that responded to the May 16^th uprising by joining the war of liberation in early 1984. Upon arrival in Ethiopia, he was trained in Combat Engineer with Zindia battalion, Koryom Division, under the command of CDR Peter Panhom Thanypiny, deputized by Dau Manyok. He was commissioned as Sergeant and deployed with Hadid Battalion, Koryom Division, under the command of Lt. Col. Francis Ngor-Makiech, to Maban Area where he valiantly participated in the capturing of Maban and Dajo towns in Upper Nile of the then Southern Sudan. In 1985, Gen. Atem Aguang and his Hadid battalion went to Thiaijaak-Adura area to clear out Anyanya two militias from Gajaak who were flank-attacking Eagle battalion, under the command of CDR Kerubino Kuanyin Bol, that was embroiled in a deadly battle for the liberation of Jekou that proved disastrous to the movement.

It was in the course of fighting Anyanya two in Gajaak area that Lt. Col. Francis Ngor-Makiech was killed with twelve (12) senior officers. Reportedly, Hadid Battalion was exhausted, and barely replenished, after liberating Maban and Dajo, and were therefore overwhelmed by Anyanya two, in numbers and weapons, that was armed by and directed from Khartoum. During the military retreat, the vehicles and heavy weapons got stuck and the mobile headquarters got surrounded. Against the best advice, and passionate pleading, from his officers, Lt. Col. Francis Ngor-Makiech flatly refused to abandon the military vehicles and heavy weapons in the hands of Anyanya two. When the army was defeated and fled in disarray, the senior officers stuck with their commander and were all martyred in Thiaijaak – one of the darkest moments of the liberation struggle. The victorious Anyanya two, which was still seething from the disputed killing of Samuel Ghai Tut by the SPLM/SPLA, set all the military vehicles and weapons on fire.

After the liberation of Maban and Dajo, Sergeant Atem Aguang was promoted to the rank of Sergeant Major in 1985, and then deployed to Bor Area in the Central Southern Sudan Zonal Command under the overall command of the late CDR Arok Thon Arok, permanent member of the Politico-Military High Command of the SPLM/SPLA. Sergeant Major Atem Aguang was put in charge of the Engineering and Motor Units of the Company of Hadid-Zindia Battalion. Immediately upon his arrival in Bor Area in 1985, he heroically participated in the famous “Tong Ashara Alif” – a do-or-die military operation against the Sudan Armed Force (SAF) military campaign, code named Sobur Ziada – at the historical town of Pan-Wel, along the Bor-Juba road.

For his fearlessness and bravery in the battle of “Tong Ashara Alif,” he was promoted to the rank of 2^nd Lt. in November 1985 while still in Bor Area. In 1986, 2^nd Lt. Atem Aguang was further moved and deployed to Jebel Lado, North of Juba, under the direct command of the late SPLM/SPLA commander, Maj. Thon Ayii Jok, and under the overall command of Lt. Col. Kuol Manyang Juuk, alternate member of the Politico-Military High Command of the SPLM/SPLA and commander of the Central Southern Sudan Zonal Command, after replacing CDR Arok Thon Arok. For his heroic military performances and leadership at Jebel Lado operations, the Late Gen. Atem Aguang was promoted to the rank of the 1^st Lt. on July 1^st, 1987.

S/No.	Military Trainings Attended	Year	Location
1	Combat engineering training	1984	Bonga, Ethiopia
2	Shield-7 training	1989-1990	Bonga, Ethiopia
3	Commando training	1990	Bonga, Ethiopia
4	Security and VIP Protection training	2003	United State of America
5	Command and staff course training (Batch-II)	2008	Juba/Bilpam by American Tutors

In 1989, 1^st Lt. Atem Aguang was sent to Shield-7 military officers training (Cadet) at the Institute for Revolutionary War Studies at Bonga, Ethiopia. After military officers’ training course, he was further trained with SPLA Commando Forces in 1990 at Bonga. After completing commando training, he was deployed as deputy Commander of Commando Task Force-7, commanded by Captain Deng Kuot Nyang and under the operational command of CDR James Hoth Mai and the overall command of CDR Oyai Deng Ajak in Operation Bright Star Campaign (BSC) Phase-II. In November 1990, 1^st Lt. Atem Aguang and his Task Force-7 captured the town of Yambio, the first town to be liberated in Western Equatoria.

5. The Iconic Commander of the SPLM/SPLA

In 1991, 1^st Lt. Atem Aguang gallantly participated in various SPLM/SPLA’s military operations in Bou Bridge, Near Maridi, against the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), particularly the military campaign code-named “Fajeer el-Sadiq” that resulted in the killing of Brig. Gen. Abdel el-Jeliil, the SAF campaign commander. For his audacious military command and chivalry, he was promoted to the rank of Captain on the 1^st of July 1991, exactly four years after he achieved the rank of the 1^st Lt. After completely destroying SAF military campaign code-named “Hakim el-Gaaba,” Captain Atem Aguang and his SPLA Commando Forces at Bou Bridge were ordered in 1992 to capture Juba under the operational command of CDR James Hoth Mai and the overall command of CDR Oyai Deng Ajak.

Captain Atem Aguang, along with his younger brother, A/CDR Deng Aguang, nobly participated in the first SPLM/SPLA’s military operation on Juba City on June 6, 1992, and again in the second unsuccessful attack on July 7, 1992, in which his former high school classmate, Gen. Thomas Chirilo Swaka, bolted out of Juba and joined the SPLM/SPLA, together with the current Jubek Governor, Gen. Augustino Jadalla Wani. It was his younger brother, A/CDR Deng Aguang, who stormed and captured Giada Military Barack, leading to the killing of senior SAF officers who were caught by surprise at the heart of the city during the second SPLA’s assault on Juba.

In the aftermath of the second assault on Juba and the defection of Gen. Thomas Chirilo and Gen. Augustino Jadalla Wani from the SAF, the government conducted targeted mass killing of Southern intellectuals, political leaders and senior army officers in the SAF. Most of these unsung martyrs who were massacred in Juba were from the Equatoria community who had risked their lives to provide valuable information to the movement and coordinated the two military assaults on Juba. Among those who perished in the targeted killing of Southerners in Juba was the son of CDR Galerio Hurinyang Modi, alternate member of the Politico-Military High Command of the SPLM/SPLA.

The two brothers of Ustaz Aguang Atem-Banyelok also partook in the subsequent various military campaigns of Operations Jungle Storm (OJS) in 1992-1993 to repulse the resurgent SAF in the wake of the 1991 Nasir Coup, masterminded by CDR Lam Akol Ajawin, CDR Riek Machar Teny and CDR Gordon Koang Chuol. These were particularly perilous experiences for the movement as most liberated towns such as Pochalla, Pibor, Bor, Kapoeta, Kajo-Keji, Yirol, Yambio and Torit were retaken by SAF’s operation “Seif el-Obuur” – the dry season military campaign – that was launched in January 1992, just few months after the 1991 Nasir coup. In particular, Khartoum was buoyed by their collaboration with the Nasir group that was supplying them with insider information about the plans, military strategies and resources of the movement.

According to Dr. John Garang, “the enemy victories had been facilitated by the Nasir incident as we lost defence in depth. In the past, we would fight the enemy from Melut before even reaching Malakal. But because of the Nasir situation, the enemy steamers were not fought until Adok and the enemy land convoys were this time not fought until after Ayod. This gave the enemy the advantage.” The SPLM/SPLA was forced to change tactics from military offensive to liberate towns to defensive wars to safeguard liberated areas. When Kapoeta was retaken by SAF in 1992 with heavy losses for the movement, CDR Majak Agot Atem was compelled to issue a radio message to the leadership of the movement in which he advocated for the adoption of guerrilla warfare in the face of imminent defeat by Khartoum. Dr. John Garang was duty-bound to acknowledge the resurgence of the belligerent SAF, but gently reminded ranks and files of his beleaguered movement that Anyanya One was able to achieve Addis Ababa Accord without controlling any town in Southern Sudan in 1972:

“…Therefore nobody should be discouraged by temporary situations. This is the nature of war. We have lost Pochalla, Bor, Yirol, Pibor and now Kapoeta. We may lose more towns, but losing towns is not losing the war. These are towns that we captured from the government in the first place. Anyanya-1 did not capture a single town but they fought the war and gave the successive Khartoum governments of that time severe headache, till they got the Addis Ababa Agreement, all without ever capturing one major town. War is lost only if the will to fight and continue the struggle is lost and I assure you that we will achieve our aims. Today the enemy is smiling and laughing, but tomorrow the SPLA will have the last laugh. SPLA Oye!”

Reaching that tomorrow where the movement would have the last laugh was obviously a daunting task as some senior members of the movement were hurriedly jumping ship and cowardly trooping to Khartoum, having prematurely concluded that the SPLM/SPLA was doomed to the dustbin of history. All liberated towns were recaptured by SAF except the hill town of Buma, the first town to be liberated, and the border town of Nimule where Captain Atem Aguang and his comrades-in-arms laid the last line of defense before the movement was obliterated. In Khartoum, much-publicized preparations were in high gears to declare the end of the civil war, with President Bashir promising on national TV to celebrate Ramadan in Nimule. Numerous “programs for the rehabilitation and redevelopment of the war-ravaged southern states were also being envisaged.” Meanwhile in Nigeria, during the Abuja peace talks, Dr. Ali el-Haj, the head of Khartoum delegation, was arrogantly telling CDR Salva Kiir Mayardit, the head of SPLM/SPLA delegation, that the “unity of the country is not negotiable and separation can only be achieved at the barrel of the gun.”

Nonetheless, Nimule proved to be the waterloo of SAF as they were roundly defeated and decisively vanquished at the historic Battle of Ashwa Bridge, in which the late Gen. Atem Aguang boldly distinguished himself as one of the most iconic and heroic field commanders of the liberation struggle, earning himself a special promotion to the rank of the Alternate Commander (A/CDR) on April 1, 1994. According to Khartoum media interviews with SAF soldiers who survived the Battle of Ashwa Bridge, “it was during this battle on Nimule that some of the government ministers, public figures, engineers, medical and veterinary doctors from the Mujahedeen contingent lost their lives.” Thanks to the noble sacrifices and valor of the late Gen. Atem Aguang and his comrades-in-arm, President Bashir’s public declaration of capturing Nimule, reaching the Ugandan border and finally declaring the end of the civil war – and triumphantly celebrating Ramadan in Nimule – was stillborn. Commenting on SPLM/SPLA’s historic victory at the Battle of Ashwa Bridge, and other subsequent military triumphs against SAF, the leader of the SPLM/SPLA leader, Dr. John Garang, sent out the following poignant radio message to the ranks and files of the movement in 1995:

“War is essentially a contest over initiative. The SPLM-SPLA held the initiative from 1983 up to 1991. As a result of various factors, including internal changes within the Movement, changes within the region and changes within the international environment, the NIF was able to seize the initiative from us and we had a series of setbacks. They were able to capture several towns from us including Yirol, Bor, Pibor, Pochalla, Torit, Kapoeta, Kajo-keji and so forth. But they did not destroy the Movement. When Beshir announces victories over the SPLA, he never talks about tanks or artillery captured from us. You can exchange space for time. We traded space and bid our time. We reorganized ourselves socially, politically, structurally, and militarily. We made the necessary qualitative changes and seized the initiative again.

This year, 1995, the NIF was going to launch yet another ‘final’ offensive on the first of November. We pre-empted them on 25 October. Within ten days we were able to overrun thirteen garrisons. We put six thousand troops out of action. That is three brigades: one in Parajok, one in Owiny-Kibul, and the third in Magwi. We pressed on to Kit where the front-line is now. We have consolidated the gains that we have achieved in this period. The balance of forces on the ground has completely changed. Only two days ago, the regime counter-attacked. This was the third counter-attack from Kit. We waited for them and annihilated a brigade.

There were two brigades, one in front and the other in reserve. They attacked us with a combined force of the Army Proper and the Mujahidiin (ill-trained Islamic Crusaders). This creates lots of command problems. They push the Mujahidiin in front and the regular army stays in the rear. The Mujahidiin believe they are going to Heaven from the battlefield. One of our elder politicians has made the joke that if the road to Heaven were through Southern Sudan, they (the Mujahidiin) would not have found us languishing there. Anyway, in the heat of battle this Heaven thing does not work and the Mujahidiin run away. When the Mujahidiin run, the rest of the army also runs. It becomes a stampede. The Mujahidiin spoil the battle but we like them very much. Like the other battles before it, this was a complete disaster for them. We counted more than two hundred bodies on the ground and gave up. We picked more than one hundred and fifty prisoners of war.

The strength of the Sudanese army in the South is still substantial in terms of numbers. They have forces in Juba and they have forces mis-deployed in Torit, Kapoeta, Kajo-keji, Yei, Morobo and Kaya. Along the Kenya-Ugandan border axis alone, they had about two hundred and fifty thousand troops before our offensive. In Juba alone there are about three divisions (say, twenty thousand men). But those are numbers. They had created the illusion in the minds of the army and the population that the war was over. Now they cannot explain these reverses. That is why they have to invent some scapegoats. They are now accusing Uganda, Eritrea, Tanzania, and South Africa of fighting for us. Even the United States is accused of operating behind this ‘conspiracy’. They actually announced over Radio Omdurman that they had killed two hundred and sixty Ugandans soldiers at the Kit front.

Of course this is absolutely untrue. There is not a single Ugandan or any other foreign soldier on our soil, leave alone being killed in our battles. Fortunately for us and unfortunately for them, there were two BBC journalists at Kit when the announcement was made and they just laughed it off with our soldiers. So I would assess the strength of the NIF army in the South, defined in terms of morale and the will to continue the war, as being very poor. This has been proven by our offensive. The offensive we have launched is irreversible.”

Throughout 1994, A/CDR Atem Aguang continued to participate in major military campaigns of Operation Jungle Storm (OJS) at Jebel Awiny (Sindoro), Karpata, Omo, Nyarbang, Moli, Thawula, Pageeri and finally Ashwa Bridge. After the SAF fail to dislodge the SPLA Forces at Ashwa Bridge, his forces were moved to Pogei-Magwi road to stop SAF’s flank attack against the SPLA forces South of Aswa River. He successfully repulsed SAF attack that resulted in the killing of prominent NIF Jihadist Leader, Mahmoud el-Sherif, in 1995. In those military operations, he was under the command of CDR Obute Mamur Mete and the overall command of CDR Oyai Deng Ajak. Soon afterward, in October 1995, the SPLM/SPLA took the initiative in a surprising military revival that threatened and later ended in encircling Juba from all directions until the arrival of the CPA era. This was the decisive military operation immortalized in the historic song by the legendary artist, Ustaz Panchol Deng Ajang. In 1995-1996, A/CDR Atem Aguang fought vigorously and boldly against SAF at Polataka, Obou, Owiny-kebul, Magwi, Ameer Junction, and Jebeleen. He was then moved back to capture Loa-Ashwa and dislodged SAF under the command of Col. Mohamad Ugel.

It was in the middle of these epic battles, in 1996, that he received the devastating news of the death of his younger brother, CDR Deng Aguang Atem-Banyelok, who was in charge of Chukudum. He was killed in cold blood by the renegade militia leader, Captain Peter Lorot, on behest of Khartoum forces in Kapoeta. The SPLA forces in Chukudum responded by killing the paramount chief of Didinga community in revenge attack for the death of their military commander, and for facilitating the escape of Peter Lorot and his militia group to the SAF-controlled Kapoeta.

In July 1997, A/CDR Atem Aguang was promoted to the rank of a full Military Commander (CDR) and deployed to the Military Cooperative in Nimule. In 1998, he was transferred to Langabu as Commander of Cobra Battalion. Between 1998 and 2000, he was assigned as commander of Brigade-III of Cobra, Jongo and Commandos. In 2001, CDR Atem Aguang commanded military operations against SAF at Raja, Sopo and Magaya towns under the overall command of CDR Pieng Deng Kuol. In these particular operations, he sustained a bullet injury on his left hand.

6. The Death of Dr. John Garang and the Triumphant Entry into Juba

In 2003, CDR Atem Aguang was redeployed to Mobile Headquarters of the C-in-C and chairman of the SPLM/SPLA as operational commander. He was then transferred to Ramchiel where he served as deputy commander to CDR Malual Majok Chiengkuach, between 2003 and 2004. At the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, he was in charge of the Commandos, the elite unit of the SPLM/SPLA that was the personal battalion of the Chairman and C-in-C, Dr. John Garang. He was also assigned to organize and train Joint Integrated Units (JIUs) in New Cush; thereafter he was deployed as the Commander of JIUs, Division-1, in the Equatoria region. When the SPLM/SPLA adopted conventional ranking in Rumbek, 16 May 2005, his rank of CDR was assessed and confirmed to the conventional ranking of Brigadier General.

On the 30^th of July, 2005, the plane carrying Dr. John Garang, who had deftly led the movement since May 1983, was reported missing while returning from Uganda. Upon losing contact with the plane, the leadership of the movement tasked the late Gen. Atem Aguang with locating the missing plane and securing the safety of the chairman. It was the late Gen. Atem Aguang, along with his then deputy of Commando battalion, CDR Peter Gatwech Ghai, who found the wreckage of the chopper and retrieved the charred bodies from the burnt plane, including the body of the late Dr. John Garang. Again, in August 2005, it was the late Gen. Atem Aguang who was tasked by the leadership of the movement to command the first SPLA battalion in a triumphant entry into Juba for the burial of Dr. John Garang and in anticipation for the establishment of the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS). In November 2005, Gen. Atem Aguang was put in charge of the SPLA JIUs First Division in Juba. A year later, 2006, he was transferred to Malakal as deputy commander to JIUs Second Division Commander under the command of the then Brig. Gen. Marial Chanuong Yol.

Few months later, he was re-deployed as commander to SPLA New Sudan Brigade at Molbok-Renk and Abyei. In 2007, he was deployed as chief of operations in Infantry 7^th Division. In 2008, he requested and was granted study leave. In 2009, he finally resumed his studies after 26 years since he turned down a scholarship in 1983 to study medicine at Cairo University in preference to joining the armed struggle for the liberation of South Sudan. In 2012, the late Gen. Atem Aguang graduated from the University of Juba where he obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Rural Development and Community Studies. When the civil war broke out in December 2013, the late Gen. Atem Aguang was promptly recalled back to the army and deployed, from 2014 to 2018, as Operation Commander of Mechanized Forces and Division Eight in Bor, where he participated in dislodging SPLA-IO rebel forces from Bor, Gadiang, Pajut, Ayod, Yuai and Waat, in the Greater Jonglei state.

In early 2018, he was deployed as deputy commander of Division Seven in Torit, Eastern Equatoria. In August 2018, he was transferred and deployed as Deputy Commander of Division Six in Maridi, Western Equatoria. It was in Maridi that he fell sick in December 2018. He went, briefly, to Uganda for treatment and then returned to duty in Maridi. In early 2019, he was finally transferred to the SPLA General Headquarters at Bilpam, Juba, where he was deployed as Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistic and Supply. Sadly, he passed onto glory on May 27, 2019. Gen Atem Aguang is survived by his wife, four sons and three daughters, and five grandsons. May his precious soul rest in eternal peace with the ancestors and with his martyred comrades!

S/No.	Military Promotions Attained	Year
1	Promoted to the rank of Sergeant	1984
2	Promoted to the rank of Sergeant Major	1985
3	Commissioned to the rank of 2nd Lt, attached to shield-2	November, 1985
4	Promoted to the rank of 1st Lt.	1st July, 1987
5	Promoted to the rank of Captain	1st July, 1991
6	Special promotion to the rank of Alternate Commander (A/CDR)	1st April, 1994
7	Promoted to the rank of Commander (CDR).	July, 1997
8	When the SPLA adopted conventional ranks assessment in 2005, his rank of CDR was assessed to Brigadier General	16th May, 2005
9	Promoted to the rank of Major General, the rank he maintained until his untimely passing on to Glory on May 27, 2019	2016

7. Postscript: The Legend of “Aheech-Dhoor”

During the era of the Anyanya One war, the central government in Khartoum used to be fearful of educated South Sudanese and would post them to the far-flung regions of the North where they would have little contact with their people and the Anyanya One movement. This was done mainly to prevent these incipient intellectuals from joining the Anyanya war or simply to preclude them from enlightening their own people – awaking them from their blissful political naiveté and socioeconomic ignorance.

Ustaz Aguang Atem-Banyelok was fed up with such a system that kept him deliberately away from the South, and thus embarked on an ingenious way to extricate himself without being thrown into jail. One such cunning method of civil disobedience that he embraced was to practically teach Arab kids in Dinka language – basically teaching them how to sing the praise songs of his favorite ox, the legendary Aheech-Dhoor, that later became his famous nickname throughout the rest of his life.

Every evening when the kids would go home, their parents would inquire what they had learnt at school that day and the kids would repeatedly report learning a song, Aheec-Dhoor, and would joyfully break into singing it, much to the chagrin of the parents. When multiple reports of Aheec-Dhoor finally reached the ears of school authorities from the disgruntled parents, Ustaz Aguang Atem-Banyelok was summarily released from his duties and allowed to travel to South Sudan, after an investigative committee established that Aheec-Dhoor was nothing more than a ploy by the shrewd teacher to have his request, to be transferred to Southern Sudan, granted.

Through changing times and dynamic circumstances, the legend of Aheec-Dhoor has transformed itself from being a form of protest, a civil disobedience, against an oppressive Khartoum regime to a colloquial expression, an adage, in the modern Dinka language. Presently, Aheec-Dhoor has attained an impressive status of an idiomatic expression – an alluring thing, a charming word or a captivating action that is later established to be nothing more than a clever ruse.

The author would like to thank Aguang Atem Aguang for providing information on the family and appreciate Engineer Deng Diar Diing (Deng-Mayom) for editing the article.

PaanLuel Wël, the managing editor of PaanLuel Wël Media (PW) website, graduated with a double major in Economics and Philosophy from The George Washington University, Washington D.C, USA, and currently works as a Project Coordinator for one of the international NGOs in South Sudan. He is the author of Pioocku Thuongjang: The Elementary Modern Standard Dinka (May, 2011), The A.B.C.D.: An Introductory Book into the English Alphabet (July, 2011) and Who Killed Dr. John Garang (July, 2015). He is also the Editor of The Genius of Dr. John Garang, vol. 1-3 (November, 2013), including Dr. John Garang’s Speeches on the War of Liberation (November, 2015) and Speeches on the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (November, 2015), Salva Kiir Mayaardit: The Joshua of South Sudan (with Simon Yel Yel, February, 2011), as well as The Customary Laws of the Greater Bor Dinka Community: Legal and Basic Rules for Self-Administration (July, 2017).

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