A Life Less Ordinary: Hon. Maker Thiong Maal
By: Mabil Manyok Nhial, Bor, South Sudan
Birth and Parentage
Thursday, 15 May 2025 (PW) — The renowned German author in the person of Irmgard Erath once asserted “with every new-born baby, a little sun rises.” So, Providence made His unflinching decision that the sun should rise in the Thiong Maal’s family, for the same Providence had decreed that every human should participate in such a glorious special sweetness and fortune of procreation. Within a blink of an eye, Duciek, for that is the name of Providence, commanded, “let there be a new beginning, hope and joy.” The command came into beingwhen the sun rose within the said homestead and became the hope in the ambience of that household. Hon. Maker ThiongMaal was born into the Aluel Mel’s big family of the Kucdoh(Deng Kuol) Section, Paleh Community, Bor County, JongleiState on January 1, 1945 at Weer Mel.
Prior to the birth of the son, there lived a couple, who had laid a concrete consanguineous foundation on which Hon. Maker’s father was raised. The husband was called Maal Aluel Mel Thiong Deng Kuol from the Deng Kuol Section of Paleh and the wife was called Alei Nhial Alei Anyuat from the AleiSection of the Ateer Clan. It is the same Alei Anyuat that begot her great grandsons that include(d): Hon. Justice Abel Alier Anaai Aluel Nhial (Abel Kuai Kut), Hon. Martin MajierGai Ngol Yuot Nhial (Martin Majier Gai Ayuel), Mach Guguei Abuk Guguei Nhial. All these are cousins to the Late Maker Thiong.
Aluel Mel was married to Thiong Jok Akau from the PanaakSection of the Deer Community. The couple bore a son called Maal. Maal Aluel Mel then sired three sons and two daughtersnamely: Nyanuer Maal (who was married to the Chot Section, Paleh Community), Duot Maal, Akuot Maal (who got married to the Leekrith Section), Thiong Maal (who became the Late Hon. Maker’s father), and Thieka.
Thiong Maal, the Late Hon. Maker’s father, got married to three wives as a practice among the Dinka of South Sudan and other African ethnicities. The names of the wives appear in the order of their seniority as enlisted hereinunder:
1. Akur Machar Deng
Akur was the first wife to Thiong Maal. She hailed from the Piool Section of the Paleh Clan, Thianwei Boma within Anyidi Payam. She begot three children such as Nhial, Alueland Yom, all of whom are now deceased.
2. Aluel Reech Ngong
This was the second wife, who hailed from the AchueiSection of Koc within the Juorkoc Community. Aluel Reechbirthed five children namely: Abuol Thiong Maal, who got married to Kuol Jur Achuoth also known as Kuol-Mawelmacfrom Gualla (alternatively called Kuol Amech within the AdolSection) of the Bor Community, Akuang Thiong Maal (whose husband hailed from the Aliab Dinka), Maker Thiong Maal(whose background is the purpose of this brief biography), Garang Thiong Maal (popularly known as Garang-Abuot; now deceased), and Alei Thiong Maal (rest in peace).
3. Agok Manyang Aguek
The third wife was Agok Manyang Aguek from Leekrith. She had four children: the first son was Garang Thiong Maal, famously known as Garang-Ayor. It is a common culture among the Bor Dinka to use a nom de plume or to be exact, a nickname that differentiates people with the same name within one’s homestead, especially from the same father, but different mothers. This usually happens in polygamous families, where many children bear same names and it then becomes cumbersome to identify them by their names when one addresses, asks or calls them. To differentiate the two sons with the same name of Garang, one was called Garang-Abuot, who was the biological brother to the Late Hon. Maker Thiong and his half-brother was given a distinctive name ofGarang-Ayor. The second child was Ateny (God rest him in eternal peace). The third child is Akech Thiong Maal, who got married to the Abuoudit Community of Jalle and the fourth child is Kona Thiong Maal.
In the Bor Dinka Community, a child is named after events, progenitors, cattle among others. So, Hon. Maker Thiong was named after a well decorated black and white ox, which was bestowed upon the Reech Ngong’s family as part of the bride wealth given to his maternal uncles.
Gleaned from the foregoing, it is crystal clear that Hon. Maker engendered from the second wife, Aluel Reec Ngong and he directly hailed from the Kucdoh Section of the PalehCommunity. His lineage is correctly traced to the Aluel Mel Thiong Deng Kuol family tree.
Early Childhood and Education
Just like his peers of the time, Hon. Maker spent much of his early childhood in the cattle camp. According to the Jieeng in general and the Bor Dinka in particular, spending time at the cattle camp is strongly considered as a basic foundation of informal education and general training. No sooner had the Late Hon. Maker enrolled into Bor Elementary School at the outset of 1955 than his informal cattle camp life became punctuated with formal education. He was a classmate of many potential politicians of our time such as the former Commissioner of Bor County, Hon. Maker Lual Kuol, and Mr Maker Kur Jok (popularly known as Maker Kurlueth). The three were in Primary Three (which was then known as Intermediate), when Dr Lam Akol joined in Primary One in 1962 at Bor Elementary School as Dr Lam Akol mentioned during the first funeral rite of the Late Maker on 14thDecember, 2024. Dr Lam also affirmed that Hon. Maker used to be his shield – a real brother who could protect him from being bullied by other older schoolmates as it was a norm in those days.
It was the same year Hon. Maker joined school that many children within the then Bor District such as Hon. Ustaz BuolLual Mayen – the former Kakuma Refugee Camp Chairman and current Jonglei State MP representing Baidit, Mr AtemYaak Atem (a renowned Journalist) from Abeh, Hon. Maker Makuac from Pathuyith, Magot Anyang from Alian and Mayen Bul from Kongoor. The year 1955 was dotted with tumultuous upheavals since it was then that the Torit Mutiny of the Any-Anya One Movement erupted in August 1955. Subsequently, all the schools in the South ceased to operate.
From the commencement of his formal education, Hon. Maker had shown unquenchable thirst for learning. He swiftlywent back to school when the Sudan regained her independence from the British Government in 1956.
After completing his elementary studies at Bor Elementary School, Hon. Maker proceeded to Bor Intermediate school, which was then based in Malakal as a result of political precariousness in 1960. This was the same year when drastic and unwarranted changes took place such as the alteration of Sunday to Friday as the official holiday or resting day in Southern Sudan as it was then called.
It is a culture among the Bor Dinka that a young man has to get initiated into manhood. Ustaz Maker was no exception for that matter. He was initiated with his cousins Manyok Guguei(Manyokdit), Manyokthii Guguei, Mamer Duot Maal and many others in or around 1961 at the age of 16 years old, which is a ripe age for the initiation among the Bor Dinka. That was the year when the infamous ferocious monster known to the Bor Dinka as Manyang e Juet attacked Wunlietde Ateer. This could either be 1962 or 1963. This is so because the Dinka, like many other Africans recall or mark years using events that occurred in the past, which is purely based on oral traditions without any written records.
In 1965, the Late Ustaz Maker could not continue with his studies due to rampant political turmoil that had then blanketed the entirety of Southern Sudan. That was soon after the famous Round Table Conference that took place from 16th– 22nd March, 1965. On May 19, 1965, the unruly Sudanese army went rampage plundering and carrying out random shooting in Bor, where a plethora of people were murdered in cold blood and innumerable houses got burnt and other properties were lost to the unrepentant morons from the North.
Under no circumstance did he start his studies within the same year as a series of offensive events were successively unleashed by those tempestuous Arabs with their cyclonic behaviour that disrupted education in the Southern region. There was an impasse for studies as a result of political helter-skelter as that season witnessed a lot of devastating occurrences, which were orchestrated by the ruthless Sudanese army, who could kill at will. These tragic occurrences include, but not limited to the Juba Massacre that occurred from 8th – 9th July, 1965 and the Wau Massacre on 11th July, 1965. Laconically, 1965 was a year of decimation and people could only consider priorities, and of course education was not a priority, but the safety of the people was.So, the late Ustaz Maker Thiong did justice for himself by returning to the cattle camp for informal education as well as his safety.
Barely had the political hullabaloo subsided when the school programmes resumed in the South. The Late Hon. Makerswung into action and went back to school with his peers. In 1968, he joined Upper Intermediate in Renk Town. He was academically stable and he, therefore, spent only the required number of years in Senior Secondary school and successfully completed his secondary education after which he continued his academic journey by joining Shendi Teacher Training Institute in 1969, where he studied a Diploma in Education. It was then that Gen. Nimeiri ousted the civilian Government of Ismail al-Azhari through a coup d’etat, which calibrated the end of the Sudan’s second fairly democratic epoch and the beginning of the torturous sixteen-year rule of that unapologetic autocrat.
Passionate about education, Ustaz Maker did his Diploma studies with acute keenness. He later graduated in 1970 as a professional teacher after two years of vigorous training and learning.
Hon. Maker was not only academically brilliant, but also culturally literate. He had been a great advocate formaintenance of the Bor Dinka culture. In one of the occasions, he cautioned every audience, especially the traditional artists from Bor and the overall cattle camp leader Mr Makec Majok: “Piooc ke mith kuo eka wutic apieth e cieeng e Jieeng. Mithkuo eka ee. Cieeng pieth eka ee.” This could loosely be translated into Thuongjang as “Teach our children our Dinka cultural values at the cattle camp. Take care of them. Keep our moral values and maintain good relationships among yourselves.”
Mariik Akook, for that was his cultural nickname, was a man of two worlds. Educated as he was, Hon. Maker was culturally endowed. As dictated by the Bor Dinka and other Africans, especially among the cattle keepers, a grown up man is addressed by the name of his favourite bull or ox. So, Hon. Maker was addressed as Manyin-jok or Mariik Akook. It is considered impolite or disrespectful to address or call a grown-up man by his actual name. The Bor Dinka custom requires that a gentleman should be addressed by the name of his bull or ox to avoid being perceived as a cultural illiterate.
Marriage and Family Life
Hon. Maker Thiong passed on as a successful family man. He so lived a well-blended life of an African man as he relished and cherished an African way of life. Having stated that, the Late Mariik Akook lived a polygamous African life. He is, therefore, survived by three wives, thirteen children and nine grandchildren.
The Late Mariik Akook married his first wife, Etou Dhal Mayen, in 1976. She hails from Roorkech Section of the Atuot, Yirol West County of Lakes State. The couple bore sixchildren, who are enlisted in the order of their birth: MaalMaker Thiong (Journalist), Thiong Maker Thiong (RIP), CholMaker Thiong (Economist), Mayen Maker Thiong (ICT Consultant), Garang Maker Thiong (Software Engineer), andNhial Maker Thiong (Graphic Designer).
The second wife is called Adhieu Mabior Akol from Piool of Paleh, Anyidi Payam of Bor County within Jonglei State. Hon. Maker married Adhieu in 1998 and she has five children as follows: Adau Maker Thiong – 3rd year student at Kenya Institute of Professional Studies, Aluel Maker Thiong – 3rdyear student at Kenya School of Interior Design, ThiongMaker Thiong – 3rd year student at KCA University, AleiMaker Thiong – Form 4 student; and Akol Maker Thiong – Primary 7 pupil.
The Late Hon. Maker’s third wife is Achok Malei Ajang, whom he married in 2008. She is from the Hol Section (HolAjang Majok) of Pakeer, Twic east County, Jonglei State. The spouses begot two children namely: Aluel Makeer thiong – Senior 1 student, and Akau Maker thiong – Primary 4 pupil.
A Reputable Teacher
As soon as the Late Ustaz Maker wrapped up his further studies, he joined his long cherished teaching profession that he had been so passionate about. Getting a professional teacher especially, in the South during those days, was as rare as hen’s teeth, because the teaching profession was so much dominated by the Arabs. However, the late Ustaz Maker managed to become one of the pioneers of the time. He was deployed to Ghadharif (sometimes spelt as Gedarif) District in Kassala, Eastern Sudan near the border of Eritrea, where he taught for two years. In the words of Kuol (2022, p.63), UstazMaker Thiong was transferred to Mading-Bor (Bor Town) where he served for three years (1972 – 1974). With other professional teachers such as Ustaz Chol Gai Arou, UstazMajak Nhial Nyuon, Ustaz Maker Thiong campaigned for building of more schools, which they later built in Bor District in 1972. This was to accommodate a burgeoning number of learners at schools.
Ustaz Maker was not only a teacher, but a renowned advocate of languages. Ustaz Maker Thiong used to advocate for serious teaching of languages and greatly empathised on proficiency in languages such as English and native languages like Thuongjang (Dinka), Bari and others. He was certainly right, because a language is a vehicle by our messages are transported. No wonder that he was fluent in three languages namely: English, Arabic and Dinka, which he could speak and write proficiently.
Ustaz Maker was so zealous a versatile teacher that his enthusiasm for politics made him oscillate between his teaching profession and political life from 1974 to 1982. For instance, in 1974, he was unswervingly appointed and endorsed to hold the position of South Sudanese Socialist Union (SSU) Youth Secretary.
In 1982, Ustaz Maker Thiong, after serving with competence and diligence, was taken back to the Department of Education, where he was appointed on merit as the Inspector of Primary Education for schools’ supplies and technical inspection under the auspices of Ustaz Abednego Ngarjok(Anyieth) Majok Bior, who was the Director of schools at the time. It was then that he advocated for the construction for enough schools in the then Bor District since he held an influential position. As a professional teacher, one of his renowned quotes is “education is the cornerstone of liberation – it empowers generations to create their future.” He used to say it when he was in charge of education of the refugees in Kakuma, Kenya.
Early Political Life
As highlighted hereinabove, the late Hon. Maker joined politics in as early as 1974. He served in the South Sudanese Socialist Union (SSU) as the Youth Secretary after his three years of service in the education sector.
Additionally, he was appointed as an Administrator in the office of the then Commissioner of Upper Nile Region whose administrative Headquarters was Malakal. It was not until dusk that he was transferred to Bor with the same administrative roles which acted as a precursor to his subsequent appointment as a Civil Administrator from Jalleup to Chuei Keer from 1986 – 1987 in the areas that were controlled by the SPLA. That position was akin to that of a commissioner in terms of the roles and everything. He served in that position concurrently with his duties as a military officer. It was then that his incorruptible work redeemed him as a great leader with intellectual refinements.
A Vibrant Revolutionary Statesman
It cannot be gainsaid that the Late Hon. Maker had an in extinguishable appetite for equality. One of many things that could make him feel at ease was fair and incorruptible treatment of people. The indescribable mistreatment unleashed by the Arabs was so wanting and unforgivable that most of the informed and enlightened Southerners staged a revolutionary civil war on May 16, 1983 in Bor Town, which is locally known as Mading-Bor.
As an advocate for equality and humanity, Hon. Maker felt it obligatory to be part of the struggle. He joined the Sudan People Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) on March 1, 1984 with Brig. Gen. Panchol Jongkuc Kuur, who is famously known by his cultural name as Manyangjok, Gen. Chol GaiArou, Brig. Gen. Chaar Kuoiloi Leek, and Kuur Anyuat Kuur. By then, Ustaz Maker was an Education Officer as well as Ustaz Chol Gai Arou, while Beny Panchol Jongkuc was a then a senior security officer.
During those days of horrible upheavals in the South, it was so cumbersome that one would not go out of Bor Town without a departure order. So, being a security officer, Uncle Pancholdit played an instrumental role in facilitating their exit from Mading-Bor to Kongor when they joined the SPLA war of liberation. As security officer, he secured a departure order for five of them namely: Ustaz Maker Thiong, Ustaz Chol GaiArou, Chaar Kuoiloi Leek, Kuur Anyuat Kuur, and Manyangjok himself. As afore mentioned, they left Bor Town for Kongoor and stayed there in Kongoor for six days. It was there that they joined those of Chagai Atem Biar and many others. On March 7, 1984, they proceeded with their journey to the Ethiopian border, where the newly formed SPLA was stationed.
Ustaz Maker was trained under Koryom Division at Bonga in Ethiopia. After his military graduation, he was commissioned as 1st Lieutenant on September 13, 1984. He was the commanding officer of the Lion Battalion. He was then deployed to Panyidu. Subsequently, he was transferred to other different fronts such as Jokou, where he vigorously fought with implacable might that proved him as a daring military officer.
It was at Jokou that he was severely wounded during the skirmishes with the Northern enemies in 1985. He sustained so many wounds, but Nhialic said NO to the spirit of death. In that battle, many soldiers from the Koryom Division lost their dear lives. Prior to that battle, Hon. Martin Majier Gai had given a brotherly piece of advice to Dr John Garang that it was not a good idea to commence the battle around Jokou and other areas, because it was only the Koryom Division, which predominantly consisted of only people from Bor District, and that the war would cause imbalanced damages in that particular area and defeat would then ensue as a matter of common sense. In fact, Koryom Battalion mainly comprised people from Bor, Twic East and Duk. At Jokou, many of them were killed and that proved what Hon. Martin Majier had stated earlier.
It is unrefuted that Hon. Maker’s mantle in executing his duties with distinction had been a true mirror of his doctrines, he could not hide behind the veil of being wounded. After recuperating from his several wounds that he sustained while fighting at Jokou, Hon. Maker was re-deployed to the AdiitBattalion. Ustaz Maker and his colleagues such as Martin Majier Gai and Ateng Alier Kuany did a tremendous job when they went to Bor and mobilised a lot of energetic youth from Bor to join the revolutionary movement. Since they were men of untainted integrity, thousands of youth hurriedly joined the war of liberation and that positively impacted the revolutionary movement.
It is a military norm to transfer a military officer from one Battalion to another, especially a well performing officer. Therefore, Hon. Maker was transferred from Adiit Battalion to the Raad Battalion of the same Koryom Division,deputising his colleague Cdr Edward Gai Garang Deng in the same year – 1985, due to his successes in his previous military positions.
Suffice is it to say that Hon. Maker was re-deployed to Southern Blue Nile in 1990. Dr Lam was a zonal Commander and Ustaz Maker became the Deputy Commander. It was then that the two developed a very strong affinity. This was shown during the funeral when Dr Lam described Hon. Maker as brave, compassionate, peaceable, humane and added that he was a man who could not compromise a good cause.
While serving as a commanding officer, the Late Hon. Maker led so many successful battles and attacks wherein he became victorious. His bravery became a glowing shadow of hope when he captured many places in Western Equatoria, where he was regarded as a red pepper in the eyes of the Arabs and their sympathizers. Under his command, the Arabs were not only badly defeated and decimated in large numbers, but healso captured Mundri, Maridi, Anzara, Lui, Jambo, and Amadi as attested by Gen. Kuol Manyang Juuk in one of his interviews with Ajakguong Media.
His fame ran faster than a bonfire when he captured Mark Nikel (who then became a missionary within the Episcopal Church of the Sudan), Martin Kejimoro, and Dr Egulu, who was an agriculturalist. These recorded victories made him one of the most admirable and successful commanders of the SPLA during those horrible days.
Albeit his incontrovertible excellent military performance, the Late Hon. Maker was a hard nut to crack. He could not entertain any nonsense orchestrated by some senior SPLA commanders, because he was a disciplined officer, who believed in respect for humanity and equality of mankind. That attribute cost him so expensively that he was ordered to go to battles without a gun. It was due to his uncompromised belief in equality and humanity that he was innocently accused of being Hon. Martin Majier’s sympathizer, like many others, who were falsely accused of being non-conformists or rebels including Hon. Martin Majier himself, who helped draft the laws of the movement. It was certainly ridiculous and laughable to accuse such people, who actually put the pants onto the butts of the SPLA and relentlessly convinced many youths from their areas to join the revolutionary movement and support it with their all fervour.However, the late Hon. Maker had friends, who outnumbered his enemies and he was then told to go to monitor the education of unaccompanied minors in Kakuma, Kenya.
A Diligent Refugee Education Officer
The mantra of “holding a gun in a right hand and a pen in a left hand” was adopted from Ustaz Maker Thiong. Like Dr John Garang and many others, they had commonalties in fighting both wars – the war of liberation from Arabic marginalisation and that of illiteracy. As quoted above, Hon. Maker could persistently remind the minors that “education is the cornerstone of liberation – it empowers generations to create their future.” For him, the Arabs can only be defeat if the two wars are well fought equally. He strongly believed that the unaccompanied minors could fight the war of illiteracy and the energetic men should fight the for liberation from general marginalisation of the Southern Region.
It serves justice to say that Ustaz Maker vacillated between military service and teaching. This portrayed his aim of keeping two enemies – the repressive Arabs and illiteracy at bay. In 1988, Gen. Kuol Manyang asked Ustaz Maker Thiongto go and take care of the unaccompanied minors and be in charge of their education in Panyidu.
When the Derg Government of Mangistu Haile Mariam collapsed, the then Sudanese refugees fled Ethiopia and proceeded to Kakuma in Northern Kenya through Eastern Equatoria in 1992. Common sense dictates that what you do today determines what you will get tomorrow. Ustaz Maker so played unmatched roles in maintaining the education of minors at Panyidu that he was again appointed as the Director of Education in Kakuma Refugee Camp.
After assuming his duties, the Late Ustaz Maker, with the assistance from the Kakuma Refugee Camp Chairman, Hon. Deng Dau Deng and Ustaz William Buol Lual Mayen, who later succeeded the former, facilitated the construction of modern school classrooms, libraries, and the Resource Centre, which are still visibly useful today in Kakuma. He equally effected the construction of the Teacher Training Centre in Kakuma Kenya, where many refugee teachers from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, the Sudan, Somalia and other nationalities were trained. Besides, his eloquence in English made him a darling even in the eyes of the UNHCR and other staff of international organisations. He maintained quality education in the camp and many refugee students could nationally compete with Kenyans and they were taken abroad through their strong academic prowess, which resulted from the available scholastic resources. Many of such students were taken to Canada and other western countries for scholarships to further their education.
It was during his time as the Director of Education that Hon. Deng Dau Deng Malek was the Camp Chairman. Both of them were good friends and worked hand in hand for the welfare of their people in Kakuma, Kenya. Being proficient in English, the Late Maker, with the assistance from other officers like Hon. Deng Dau, advocated for the resettlement of the unaccompanied minors and other beneficiaries to the US, Canada, Australia, and other western countries, where South Sudanese reside until now.
An Incorruptible Statesman
While he was serving as an educationist in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Hon. Maker never parted following the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) from its inception until it was signed in 2005. When the CPA was birthed and implemented, he was nominated to the National Legislative Assembly in Khartoum.
In 2010, the general elections were conducted and hecontested on an SPLA ticket in Bor County and indubitably won the seat to the National Assembly representing BorCounty in the National Government, headquartered in Khartoum.
When South Sudan became independent on 9th July 2011, Hon. Maker and the rest of his colleagues were automatically transferred to the South Sudan National Assembly in Juba.
As a teacher and politician, the Late Maker had never been so silent in issues that mattered in his full glare. His brilliance could illuminate the whole parliament, when anything was of significant deliberation. He made immense contributions in exerting a lot of efforts in the promulgation of different statutes that he was so instrumental in leading the debates such as the Referendum Act, 2010, which led to the independence of the Republic of South Sudan, the Nationality Act, 2012, the National Security Act, 2014 among others. Just to say the least, he was not a shadowy national figure nothing.
The Late Hon. Maker initiated many peace dialogues among the youth of different communities in Jonglei State, for instance, he led a peace talk between the Bor Dinka youth and those from Pibor Administrative Area, which resulted from a series of revenge attacks.
Hon. Maker reached his political climax when he was appointed as the Governor of Jonglei State during the epoch of 32 states, which later became defunct. He did not hold that position for long, because of changes triggered by the Revitalised Peace Agreement that rendered Jonglei State to South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA). He was then replaced by Denay Jock Chagor.
He then came back to his position in the National Assembly as an MP in what has now been baptised as the Revitalised Transitional National Legislative Assembly, until the fate made its an impromptu decision and robbed us of him at 3AM on Wednesday, 11th December 2024. He was buried in his ancestral land at Weer Mel in tandem with his dying declaration that he told his son, Mr. Maal Maker, that he should be buried in his father’s plot while facing the direction of Weer Mel.
Attributes
1. Bravery
Hon. Maker was a such a daring personality, whose bravery was well engraved in his deeds and words. It was this quality that made his name sung within and beyond Western Equatoria, where he defeated the Arabs and captured many places such as Maridi, Mundri, Anzara, Lui, Jambo, and Amadi in Western Equatoria. Bravery is required of a good leader, because it is often considered an essential attribute for effective management since many intricate issues need to be addressed in a courageous manner. It enables a leader to make bold decisions and navigate through a lot of uncertainties. A courageous leader can inspire his subordinates and successfully guide them through difficult times. Truly, the Late Hon. Maker was that leader.
2. Compassion
It is common knowledge that a compassionate leader creates a very safe and supportive vicinity in which everyone feels valued and acknowledged. Hon. Maker was such a compassionate leader that he could build strong relationships with many of his colleagues, whom he worked together. Dr Lam Akol stated during the Late Hon. Maker’s first funeral rite that Ustaz Maker was a compassionate leader, who could build stronger relationships with his colleagues and those under him. Hon. Deng Dau who once worked together with Ustaz Maker equally confirmed that the Late Hon. Maker could always win the hearts of his subordinates, because he was a compassionate and trusted personality.
3. Peaceableness
Despite being a brave and a no-nonsense gentleman, UstazMaker was one person, whose nature was best characterised by tranquillity, calmness, and tactical resolve. This was seenin so many occasions in his political life, where he would bring conflicting people to dialogue. He initiated a peace talk between the Bor Dinka youth and the Murle youth when he was appointed Governor of Jonglei State in 2019.
4. Incorruptibility
Hon. Maker Thiong Maal’s incorruptibility speaks for itself for those who knew him. Even if he was a national figure,who would have had the leverage of amassing wealth in a crooked manner, he decided to rely only on his meagre salary,which could not even come timely as it has been a known culture in the Republic of South Sudan. He climbed the echelon of Jonglei State leadership as the Governor, but he decided not to take anything that belonged to the public. He died a very humble man without any well-built house unlike some of his colleagues, who have shamelessly defalcated public resources for their personal gratification. To reflect his incorruptible nature, Hon. Maker Thiong has been quoted having said that “true leadership is measured by the lives we transform and the legacies we leave behind.” Indeed, a corrupt leader cannot expect to transform the lives of other people through corruption. He truly walked the talk. He took good care of his clean integrity.
In the view of the former President of Singapore, Lee KuanYew, a corrupt leader cannot succeed in his career unless he protects his integrity and be incorruptible. One does not lose anything if he loses material things, but they lose everything if they lose their integrity. Integrity and incorruptibility should be the guiding principles for political leaders. This quality is the rarest of all attributes, because it is the sum total of honesty, accountability, transparency, and adherence to ethical principles without any compromise. In his entire life, Hon. Maker did not like taking anything that did not belong to him. He was a man in his own kingdom, because it is almost impossible to find an incorruptible politician in the face of this wrecked world, which has been torn apart by corruption.
Put simply, Hon. Maker lived a life less ordinary, because of this unique quality of being incorruptible in the country so engulfed by this monster called corruption.
5. Outspokenness and Honesty
Most of Hon. Maker’s peers describe him as someone who could not talk in a round-about manner. He could express his opinions or feelings directly and openly without any fear or contradiction. He was very forthright and honest in expressing his thoughts without any reservation. He could call a spade a spade, but not a big spoon. This quality cost him so dear, because this wicked world does not want realities to be unleashed openly.
6. Goal-oriented
Ustaz Maker was a man of focus. One of his colleagues, UstazPanchol Jongkuc alluded to the Late Maker as a man, whowas goal-oriented and that he could execute his duties with diligence and focus.
Summary of his Achievements
➢ He fought two wars – the war of liberation and the war of illiteracy, wherein he advocated for children to join schools and for energetic men to join the liberation struggle. As a successful military commander, he fought and captured many places in Western Equatoria and other areas as set out under his revolutionary duties.
➢ He facilitated the construction of many modern schools in Jonglei State and Malakal, where he worked before the eruption of the liberation war.
➢ Together with his colleagues such as Martin Majier and Ateng Alier, Ustaz Maker massively mobilised youths from Bor to join the SPLA and that breathed life into the struggle, which was about to wither, when the KoryomDivision were killed in large numbers.
➢ He also facilitated the construction of both primary and secondary schools in Kakuma Refugee Camp. He will be remembered for ages since his footprints are visible wherever he passed and touched the lives of many people.
➢ He helped facilitate the movement of unaccompanied minors from Panyidu to Kakuma, Kenya.
➢ Together with Hon. Deng Dau – the first KakumaRefugee Chairman, and Ustaz William Buol Lual, who succeeded Hon. Deng Dau, Ustaz Maker fully supportedthe resettlement of minors (unaccompanied children) in the US, Canada, Australia and other Western countries.
➢ He facilitated the establishment of Kakuma Teacher Training College where most of the refugees who had completed their secondary studies were trained before they could be deployed to many schools for teaching. That boosted quality education where refugees would even compete with Kenyans in national examinations.
➢ He was so instrumental in the deliberation of many national Acts such as the Referendum Act, 2010, the National Security Act, 2014, the Nationality Act, 2012 and other acts, in which he was leading the debates until they were enacted as national laws.
➢ Last, but equally important, Hon. Maker raised successful children, most of whom are independent as graduates and/or soon to be graduates.
The writer is a Zimbabwean trained legal practitioner and can be reached via johnmabilmanyok@gmail.com
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