Why Minister Elia Lomuro Must Face Justice for Ethnic Profiling Against the Nuer in South Sudan
Take Hon. Dr. Elia Lomoro to Court Over Nuer Profiling
By Machien Luoi, Bentiu, South Sudan
Wednesday, 30 April 2025 (PW) — Hon. Dr. Elia Lomoro, the Minister of the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs in South Sudan on 25th April 2025, presented a controversial document called the “Strategic Response of the Revitalized Government of National Unity to the Nasir incident…….”The document was meant to be a position of the Revitalized Government of National Unity (R-TGONU) on the recent conflicts in the country. In particular, the violent incident at Nasir town, in Nasir County, in the Upper Nile State, earlier in March 2025. In a negative turn of events, the content of the document was received with an outrage by people of Nuer ethnicity after they learned the“Strategic Response” of their government was nothing but an attempt to pitch them as foreigners and persona non grata, without exceptions. While many have written about the matter already, these views take a different detour on the debate. This piece is a critique of the technical parts of itself; An analysis of the perceived meaning of parts of the “strategic response”; and a call to the aggrieved to utilize the available legal institutions to seek answers and remedy to the damage (s) caused or yet to be by the “strategic response” document.
To start with, the press statement document had the seal of the Republic of South Sudan, but no particular institution, including the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs owned the document. The document had no clear title and not dated. The title was not obvious as the“strategic response” was found in a lengthy sentence which sounded like an abstract of what was coming. At the foot of the document something read as “End of the Strategic Response.” This is weird. The insitution launching it was missing, while it was unsigned and unstamped. It is an anomaly and unprofessional. The government should take note and take an issue with this kind of presentation of the state (governmental) information presentation for public consumption. Official letters heads for all government institutions are available and ready for printing. Why were they ignored for this document?
A careful examination of its substance conveys a state of disjuncture between the intent and the content. The preamble (designated 1. Preamble) – focused on the dynamics of the conflict in Nasir, which began it said began on the 3rd March 2025. Key actors (SSPDF, SPLM/A-IO, White Army) were mentioned. There was no Nuer ethnicity focus in the preamble. The next section was designated as “2. Background to the Nasir Conflict.” As the title of this section suggests, any audience would expect an elaborate narrative about Nasir incident and probably where it got the country to. Yet, that was not the case. From the two (preamble and Background to the Nasir conflict), there is an obvious disjuncture between what was intended and content/substance (the ethnic profiling). If the intention was about Nasir conflict, it did not come out clearly. If it were about the Nuer, it was not the intention of the Preamble and the background of the Nasir conflict. The ethnic profiling was out of nowhere and a stark incongruence with the overall intent of the “Strategic Response” of the Press Statement.
Let me reminds the readers of this message that a state is understood to be a political community crafted from a population living in particular territories and subject to a single government. Such a state is called a “Nation – State” because its political boundaries are concominant or “coterminous with cultural boundaries.” The state of S. Sudan is multinational owing to its many nations, Nuer nation being one of them. The Nuer nationals are co-owners and rightful citizens of S. Sudan. The Nuer people are South Sudan and South Sudan is them, as it is to the other sixty-three nationalities. The label that certain Nuer counties or people are “friendly” is foreign to the norms and roots of foundation of South Sudan state. In fact, it blatantly contravenes Nuer’s equal ownership and citizenship and violates the constitution of the Republic of S. Sudan. Any organized Nuer leadership or individual (s) could bring the issue to any court, including in Juba, and probability of winning such a case is high.
It is a common knowledge that conflicts are common and frequent characteristic to humans. Some conflicts are violent than others. Both nonviolent and violent conflicts are pervasive in South Sudan.Even, the violent conflicts against the state of South Sudan do not occur in the Nuer territories alone, and facts are can prove so. It is utterly wrong and constitutionally a violation to designate an entire people as “hostile,” regardless of the meaning and connotations the term carries. Notwithstanding, the generalization of the Nuer as either “hostile” or “friendly” should be arrived at after a scientific undertaking. Even the government and citizen conflicts, social science fact finding should precede government actions or response. For instance, the British colonial government (Anglo-Egyptian Condominium – 1898 – 1956) rule in Sudan had to send social scientists (Anthropologists) to learn and understand about the people of S. Sudan when they sought act on or against resistant elements of traditional societies. E.Evans Pritchard was sent to the Nuer homelands to do just that when Leopard skin chiefs (spiritual leaders) proved difficult to subdue to submission to the colonial administration’s ways. It was his thorough research undertaking that resulted in the colonial government’s war against the Nuer spiritual leaders who it considered the persona non grata. In social science, generalizations are acceptable after a population sampling research, where sample size tests or results could then be generalized to the population under examination. Did Hon. Dr. Elia try this? Even in Nasir and Ulang Counties where recent conflicts occurred, a blatant generalization is still scientifically wrong. To conclude, Hon. Dr. Elia Lomoro has just become an “UK un-proven scientist” though he recently bragged about being an “UK proven scientist.” This is embarrassing.
Last but not least, I would like to join the leaders of South Sudan, particularly, the Nuer leaders who called for calm. The profiling of the Nuer as “friendly” was meant to dispossess of ownership and citizenship of our country and wishfully make the Nuer foreign to his homeland. While that of “hostile” is probably meant to grossly put the entire Nuer people at an adversarial position with the state. And consequently to become the persona non grata. That wishful thinking, conceptualized in the minds of a few, will end in them.The people of South Sudan have been and are going through tough times. Nuer people are not an exception. In a troubled society hiccups are common. Please treat the caricature of your kind as “hostile” and “friendly” soberly. The weight and burden of our internal affairs (society and government) have consequences forstability and well-being of communities and individuals. Don’t let these labels influence what you ought to be or do in your beloved country. It is a hiccup from a citizen (s) who may as well besuffering and experiencing own life struggles.
Finally, it is a citizen’s constitutional right to demand for responsible and accountable discharge of public office responsibilities from those entrusted with power to manage state affairs on citizens’ behalf. It is in this line of thought that I write to suggest that anyone wishing to act against this ethnic profiling, should pursue legal course of action. The best response to this anomaly in public office is to sue Hon. Dr. Elia Lomoro, Minister of Cabinet Affairs in any competent court of law in South Sudan, the region and Africa. Public offices, freedom of speech and freedom of expression have consequences when they infringed on the rights and integrity of citizens. It should not be different for Hon. Dr. Elia Lomoro.
Machien Luoi T. Dagoor is a citizen of South Sudan living in Juba. The views expressed herein are his own. They are neither of his employer nor associations. He can be reached at dhuretingting@gmail.com
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