Political Allegiance, Not Ethnicity, Is the Question in Hon. Puot Kang’s Political Ordeals
By PaanLuel Wël, Juba, South Sudan
Detained SPLM-IO Petroleum Minister Hon. Puot Kang Chol is reported to have told the “Special Court” in Juba that his detention and persecution are rooted not in his political affiliation with the SPLM-IO, but in his ethnic identity as a Nuer. He is quoted as saying: “If being Nuer is a crime, then we are Nuer.” With due respect, Hon. Puot Kang is arguably wrong to insinuate that his political ordeal and detention are primarily related to his ethnicity, rather than to his political allegiance to Dr. Riek Machar and the SPLM-IO.
If there is one trait President Kiir has inherited from his predecessor, Dr. John Garang, it is that, in the struggle to maintain and exercise power, ethnicity and clan identity are secondary to political and military allegiance. Dr. John Garang began his political and military struggle against Akuot Atem Mayen, a fellow Twic Dinka in Jonglei state and even a close family friend who had been among the elders involved in John Garang’s marriage process.
John Garang later extended the same political and military confrontation to CDR Arok Thon Arok and Justice Majier Gai Ayuel, both from his own backyard, as well as to Kerubino Kuanyin Bol. These were men from John Garang’s ethnic community. Yet the same confrontation was equally directed at non-Dinka members of the movement, including William Nyuon Bany Machar, Joseph Oduho Haworu, Dr. Riek Machar Teny and Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin. In other words, what mattered most was not ethnicity or clan, but politico-military allegiance to the Movement.
President Kiir has adopted a similar strategy in dealing with real and perceived enemies and rivals to his leadership. His actions have not been based primarily on ethnicity or clan, but on political and military allegiance to his government and leadership.
The first prominent political killing, long before the abduction and disappearance of Dong Samuel Luak and Aggrey Ezbon Idri, was that of Isaiah Abraham. Isaiah was not only a Dinka like President Kiir, but also a member of the Tiger Battalion that had once been commanded by CDR Salva Kiir himself.
Likewise, the harsh political and security ordeals faced by Gen. King Paul Malong Awan, Gen. Akol Koor and Hon Benjamin Bol Mel — all of whom hail from President Kiir’s own political and ethnic backyard — are arguably far more severe than anything faced by Hon. Puot Kang, whose political ordeal is perhaps only comparable to that faced by the SPLM Former Detainees, the majority of whom were Dinka from the president’s own ethnic group.
Only Dr. Riek Machar can claim to have faced the same, or even greater, political and security ordeal as Gen. Paul Malong, Gen. Akol Koor and, to a lesser extent, Hon Benjamin Bol Mel. The constant factor in all these cases is not ethnicity, but political and military allegiance.
Nuer political and military leaders who support President Kiir are not facing political persecution, not because they are “less Nuer,” but because their allegiance is to President Kiir rather than to Dr. Riek Machar. Equally, Dinka political and military leaders opposed to President Kiir have faced political persecution, not because they are “less Dinka,” but because they are perceived as opponents of his leadership.
Political allegiance, rather than ethnicity, is the reason why Hon. Puot Kang is in political detention and facing persecution in court. It is also the reason why Hon. Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth is a national minister in Juba and CDR James Koang Chuol is the current governor of Upper Nile State, even though both hail from the same Jikany Nuer community as Hon. Puot Kang.
Therefore, while I deplore the unwarranted, pointless and continued political detention of Dr. Riek Machar and his political allies, including Hon. Puot Kang, I equally deplore the use of the ethnic card by politicians who freely chose to follow one political leader over another in pursuit of their political ambition and power.
Rather than seeking refuge in ethnicity — “If being Nuer is a crime, then we are Nuer” — Hon. Puot Kang could have transcended the ethnic frame by invoking his national and political identity as a South Sudanese leader suffering for his political convictions and for what he believes to be a better South Sudan through the SPLM-IO.
A more fitting declaration would have been: “If being SPLM-IO is a crime, then we are SPLM-IO.” Sadly, Hon. Puot Kang Chol has failed the test of a national leader fighting for a better South Sudan
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