Junior William Deng at the Crossroads: Mapping the Path to Glory in TEYA Politics in South Sudan
By Gai karanja Sr. jba, South Sudan
Thursday, 8 May 2025 (PW) — Since national elections — as a means of determining power — are off the table nationally, the Twic East Youth Association (TEYA), based in Shirkat, Juba, now serves as a platform for electoral discourse. Twic East is a county in Jonglei State.
TEYA operates along party lines: the Twic East Youth Solidarity Alliance (TEYSA) is the ruling party; Twic East Forward (TEF) is led by Junior William Deng; and the Twic East Alliance for Development (TEAD), under Dut Atem Malek, among others, also participates. This party system was adopted after Ajang Diing-Mamuor won the elections, but his “ordinary alliance” members lost, leaving him with a cabinet of members who didn’t cooperate with him. Consequently, a party system was established whereby the entire winning party, instead of alliances, would take all seats and govern collectively.
This opinion will examine Junior William Deng and Anyuon Magedem as key figures in TEYA politics, how they parted ways, and what the outcome of the TEYA 2025 elections might be.
Once, Dr. Majak D’Agoot stated that he was an ordinary member of Twic Mayardit, given their shared social, historical, and cultural backgrounds. It is in that spirit that I write as an honorary citizen of Twic East — a community I have long cherished and from which I count many friends.
First and foremost, the inaugural leader of the contemporary TEYA was Mabior Deng “Wutung” Mabior Atem, son of Dr. John Garang’s elder brother. Mabior is from Awulian, Nyuak Payam, where another candidate is running in the upcoming elections.
After him, Ajang Diing-Mamuor (nicknamed “Super Chairman” by Hon. Akot Dut Ajiéng and Chuot Makur Chuot) from Kongor took over. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Ajang managed to organize elections in 2021, bringing in Dr. Garang Atem Ayiik (Ajuong) as the new leader. In 2023, Arok Dut Arok (Pakeer) became the fourth chairman.
So, who is the fifth?
First of all, it’s an open secret that the emergence of Junior William Deng from exile in 2021 and his candidacy for TEYA expanded the association’s outreach beyond Jonglei — and arguably across the country. The South Sudan National Chairman of the Electoral Committee, Prof. Abednego Akok Kachuol, was invited, was impressed, and promised to integrate TEYA IEC members into the national commission after the highly contested elections between Arok Dut Arok and Junior William Deng were deemed incredibly fair and successful.
As an opposition member of the People’s Alliance Movement (PAM) by then, Junior attracted a large following, thanks to the civil and informed political debates he initiated over the years. His 2021 candidacy sparked interest in TEYA, though he lost badly to Dr. Garang Atem Ayiik and Chol Yaak Akoi, who took second place.
Twic youth made it clear that Junior, as a “visitor,” should first understand local issues, since he had just returned from a nearly decade-long, self-imposed exile in East Africa. They believed he would win next. In 2023, he lost narrowly — a result reminiscent of a promise made by Ngundeng: never coming, never ending, but always promising.
Anyuon Magedem is another young man who has made a name for himself in Twic. He and Junior had been in a strong alliance for years, but they parted ways last week. Twic East youth may now view Junior William Deng’s persistence as power-hungry, but this is consistency in politics. His home Payam, Lith, has fielded two additional candidates to challenge him, raising concerns and, finally, the “Deng Dau Factor.”
Given this scenario, ambitious players like Anyuon Magedem have abandoned ship. While these developments may appear to be weaknesses, they also bring to bear political strength. The Lith candidates can be likened to Par Kuol — they can’t pull the carpet from under Junior William Deng’s feet. Just as the Kikuyu of Kenya can no longer be dictated to by Kenyatta or Martha Karua, Lith voters are determined to win independently. In previous elections, some candidates even received zero votes in Lith Payam.
This situation is comparable to Par Kuol or Taban Deng Gai’s “displacement” of Riek Machar.
What Has Anyuon Deprived Junior William Deng Of? When the incumbent chairman Arok Dut Arok (Pakeer) contested for TEYA, Anyuon (Pakeer) was Junior’s running mate.
It’s fair to say that Anyuon managed to pull the carpet from under Arok’s feet by diverting nearly half of the votes in Junior’s favor — despite Junior being a long-time ally of Pakeer. To consolidate TEYSA’s support in Nyuak — the party’s stronghold in 2023 — a gentleman’s agreement was made between Awulian and Arok to allow Arok to run, with hopes of endorsing an Awulian candidate this year.
So far, Arok has endorsed Khot Jok Ajak for TEYSA, which means Arok may influence Pakeer voters to support Khot. Nonetheless, Junior still enjoys legitimacy in Pakeer, as does Anyuon. I can estimate that Arok’s influence and incumbency could secure at least 40% of the vote for Khot Jok Ajak. The remaining 60% might split between Anyuon (35%) and Junior (25%). This means Junior William Deng will lose approximately 35%.
Secondly, in Nyuak, TEYSA’s founding chairman, Chol Yaak Akoi (Ayual), who lost the 2021 elections, endorsed Arok in 2023 — and Arok won. Since Arok has now backed an Awulian, Ayual’s prospects for 2027 are slim if their cousin wins.
They are likely to choose between William Junior Deng and Dut Atem Malek. Still, Ayual and Dacuek have a high chance of voting for Junior, who comes from a Payam that has never held the TEYA leadership — possibly to balance prospects for 2027. Voting in favor of Dut Atem Malek, from their historical alliance, would risk their calculations for 2027.
The best course of action may be to level the power matrix for 2027. Political correctness will lead them to Lith.
Thirdly, there’s the Deng Dau Factor. I won’t delve too deeply into this, but it appears Twic’s political agenda has been shaped by resolutions from BMC 2022 and the Twic Global Conference 2024. Hon. Deng Dau is perceived to be trading or opposing community-based resolutions for personal political gain — a perception that has triggered defiance.
In 2023, rumors emerged linking Junior William Deng to Deng Dau’s political ambitions. Despite this, Ajuong Payam — Deng Dau’s home turf — may still support Junior William Deng out of sympathy, or in line with the Jieng adage: “Anyone may hate a leper, but not their immediate relative.”
This means Ajuong may indefinitely vote for Junior to salvage this challenging situation. In fact, he had promising votes in 2023 and perhaps this time as well. In Ajuong too, Dr. Garang Atem Ayiik once contested with Junior in 2021. A contest is usually a rivalry — GATEM may pull off a percentage for Dut Atem Malek.
In conclusion, Junior is likely to have the full backing of Lith and Ajuong, and partial support from Pakeer — due to his long alliance with Anyuon Magedem — and Nyuak, particularly Ayual and Dacuek, who have prospects for the 2027 bid.
If you want to submit an opinion article, commentary, or news analysis, please email it to the editor: info@paanluelwel.com or paanluel2011@gmail.com. PaanLuel Wël Media (PW) website does reserve the right to edit or reject material before publication. Please include your full name, a short biography, email address, city, and the country you are writing from.
About Post Author
