From Liberation to Disillusionment: My Journey with the SPLM
South Sudan Flag
By Morris Kuol Yoll, Calgary, Alberta
Wednesday, 18 June 2025 (PW) – I used to be a strong supporter of the SPLM. In 1988, while I was in Liberia, I—alongside fellow Southern Sudanese—helped collect used clothing to send to liberation areas. We entrusted these items to Dr. Justin Yaac Arop and Comrade Yusuf Kuwa Mekki, who delivered them. When they reached the liberated areas, Dr. John Garang asked Yusuf to distribute them specifically to the Nubian people. The gratitude he showed changed many hearts and cemented trust between communities. That moment stood as a symbol of solidarity and unity.
Beyond humanitarian aid, we were instrumental in mobilizing support for the SPLM/A across West Africa. Many of the Southern Sudanese in the region were veterans of the Ananya I movement, staunch supporters of the cause. When the SPLM split in 1992, the pain was visceral. In the refugee camp in Ghana, where we had taken exile, we wept and fasted for days after learning of the defection of Dr. Riek Machar and Dr. Lam Akol. It felt like a betrayal of the vision we had committed ourselves to.
Even in exile, our support didn’t waver. Through radio and media, we defended the SPLM’s mainstream voice. Dr. John Garang later visited us in Ghana, a moment that renewed our resolve and affirmed our faith in the movement.
After moving to Canada, I continued championing the liberation of our people. As Secretary General of the Sudanese Community Relief and Rehabilitation organization in Canada, I helped galvanize financial and moral support for the SPLM. I personally gathered thousands of signatures—twice—to pressure Talisman Energy to withdraw from Sudan. I organized multiple demonstrations, lobbied churches, and urged the Canadian government to act.
Our advocacy bore fruit: the Canadian government appointed Envoy John Harker to investigate slavery and human rights violations committed by the Sudanese government, particularly in the Talisman oil exploration zones inside Southern Sudan. The *Harker Report* was a bold affirmation of the abuses our people faced. Harker’s findings were instrumental in convincing the United States to intensify pressure on Sudan to end the war, leading to the appointment of U.S. Envoy John Danforth to oversee the peace initiative.
Alongside my efforts, my wife, Natalina Nyanut Deng Makuach—known as Natalina Yoll—was a fearless voice in her own right. She championed the truth in public forums, particularly at Talisman Energy’s annual general meetings. There, she spoke bravely about how the company’s investments were fueling the Sudanese regime’s jihad war and ethnic cleansing campaigns against the people of Southern Sudan. Her voice echoed where it mattered most, holding power to account and standing up for the voiceless.
Another proud moment came with the initiative of Deng Akol Leng, a South Sudanese who was a master’s Degree student at the University of Calgary, and with the dedicated support of our Canadian friends—namely Merve Schaefer, his wife, and Mel Middletown of Freedom Quest International—we were able to arrange for Dr. John Garang to visit the University of Calgary. Though the visit ultimately didn’t materialize, it was a powerful effort that testified to our influence and commitment in the diaspora.
Later, during the referendum, I worked to mobilize voters—even in the face of skepticism—to ensure our people’s voices were heard. But after independence, what I witnessed broke my heart.
When I visited South Sudan in 2011, I expected progress. But instead, I saw neglect. Juba’s airport was in shambles, children and women begged on the streets, roads were in terrible condition, and poverty was everywhere. My wife, overwhelmed by the suffering, cried. I was deeply disheartened. The nation we had fought to see born was sinking under corruption.
The very day I returned to Canada, I disconnected my satellite television. I couldn’t bear to watch South Sudanese news anymore; it all felt like a lie. In the forums where we used to rally in support of the SPLM, I publicly declared that I had “frozen” my support for the movement. That decision wasn’t made lightly. It was based on the realization that political support given to the wrong leadership only enables them to continue unchecked abuses, corruption, and the concentration of destructive power.
At this junction, I want to caution SPLM supporters against jumping on the so-called “generational change” bandwagon. Be wary of embracing unsubstantiated change that lacks a credible foundation or viable leadership. After all these years of SPLM-led failures, senseless civil wars, and the suffering they’ve inflicted on our people, we must withhold blind, voluntary support that risks worsening the situation.
Let us urge the SPLM leadership to listen to the people first, not implement change when it suits their agenda. They’ve had years to experiment with political reform and have failed time and again. As Dr. John Garang once said of the NIF regime, “The SPLM leaders are deformed to be reformed. The same sadly applies today.
It’s time to push for participatory governance and reform led by the people, not imposed upon them. No more bias. No more excuses. Only then can we reclaim the dream we once believed in.
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