It’s an undeniable fact that South Sudanese
former Vice President, Riek Machar, and South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir
Mayardit, have done something most of us will not find easy to forgive. They’ve
reminded us of the past nightmares and caused unspeakable bloodshed!
Intentionally or unintentionally, they caused Jieng and Nuer to turn against
one another with vengeance …and they’ve now turned young people against one
another on social media.
The
conscientious and strong-minded youths have resisted mental tribalization; however,
many youths have been divided along tribal and clannish lines. They are calling
themselves names and writing statements they’ll regret tomorrow when sanity
returns.
I
blame the leaders for starting the mess and I also blame the young for being
overly gullible and markedly credulous!
As
most of you know, I’ve always criticized President Kiir’s leadership; however,
I’d accepted the fact that he’s a humble person being misled by power-seeking people
around him; and that he’d soon see the truth and change the country for
better. I was being too optimistic!
And
I’ve always believed that Dr. Riek Machar has seen a lot of needless bloodshed
when SPLA/SPLM split in 1991…and that he would never, ever support armed
rebellion in South Sudan again. I was wrong! Riek’s support of the rebellion is
unforgivable. I am a living witness of 1991 atrocities as I lived through it to
the end!
Besides,
violent removal of the president should have no place in South Sudan no matter
what!
Riek Machar
We
all know that President Kiir had turned autocratic and a little lax when it
came to meaningful transformation of Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM)
into a well-functioning political party. In addition, we all know that you and
your colleagues had given President Kiir enough chances to do the right
thing. There’s no doubt VP James Wani
Igga and President Kiir have made fun of you in their public addresses instead of
showing true leadership. Arguably, the events leading to the mutiny and the
mutiny itself can’t be blamed on you and your colleagues per se!
However,
you’ve lost sight of the truth you wanted to establish. It’s one thing to
‘democratize’ SPLM and South Sudan, and it’s another thing to support a
rebellion. Supporting another rebellion is a mistake you’ll never recover from
whether a peaceful settlement to his crisis is arrived at or not.
Jieng
and Nuer tribes suffered immensely as a result of your rebellion, with Dr. Lam
Akol in 1991, and these two communities are suffering as a result of a
rebellion you now support. A lot of
blood is in your hands: 8 years after 1983 and 8 years after 2005!
Your
only redemption is to bring this conflict to a speedy end without any political
benefit going to you personally.
You
failed to have civilians protected in areas controlled by SPLA commanders
who’ve pledged allegiance to you. Civilians were slaughtered in the towns of
Akobo, Bentiu, Bor and violent deaths in other places like Pariang and Abiemnom.
Why didn’t you unequivocally instruct your commanders to protect
civilians? Why didn’t you even send a
message of condolences to families who’ve lost loved one…be they Jieng or Nuer?
The
deaths of innocent civilians remove any nationalist and moral conscience in
you! You reflected yourself as a power-hungry and callous man who’d do anything
to get to power! Redeem yourself in unequivocal terms!
President Kiir
I
know it’s painful and even wrong for senior members of your own party to
criticize you in public. There’s no country in the world where people from the
same political party criticize themselves viciously and irresponsibly in the
media. I agree with you that Riek Machar was wrong in publicly criticizing you.
Riek, first as South Sudan VP, and as the chairman of SPLM, could have used
internal avenues to solve internal party problems. I believe these are some of
the ways you’ve been wrong.
However,
Mr. President, you are the president of South Sudan and exemplary leadership
should come from you. You’ve failed miserably in this regard. Remember, you are
a president of international caliber and what you say is heard all over the
world. It’s therefore imperative that
you do some research before any public addresses. Saying things you can’t prove
only makes fun of your personality and the presidency of South Sudan. Kawajat need proofs for one to maintain
credibility!
If people
around you can’t research the facts you say in your speeches then FIRE them.
Admittedly,
the members of SPLM Political Bureau, who disagreed with you gave you enough
chances and time to do the right thing. Instead of you showing leadership, you
resorted to abuse and foul language not fit for the presidency. When the dissident
group came out on December 6, 2013, your VP, James Wani Igga, instead of acting
like a leader, resorted to abusive, childish language against the SPLM
members…calling them ‘disgruntled.’
To
give you benefit of the doubt, these members postponed the rally to give
reconciliation a chance but all you did in the National Liberation Council
meeting was to act irresponsibly by using divisive language causing some of the
said SPLM members to walk out of the meeting in protest.
To add
pepper to a bad wound, on December 15, 2013, after the mutiny, you came out,
not as president of South Sudan, but as a military General ready for war. That
was irresponsible! Whoever told you that should be FIRED!
The
saddest part of it all was that you came out and called the mutiny a ‘coup’
without providing verifiable proofs that what happened on December 15, 2013 was
actually a ‘coup.’
Don’t
say anything you can’t prove! Never believe anything you’re told without any
proof. This is a world of proofs! Factual evidence should be your strength;
assumption will bury your leadership and give grounds for your prosecution.
The
world hasn’t condemned what you called ‘attempted coup’ because you’ve not
provided them with any PROOF and what you continue to say is plain nonsense. Not
condemning the ‘coup’ is a big embarrassment to you and South Sudan.
Without
doubt, you mishandled the affairs of SPLM and you mishandled the events after
the mutiny and now a lot of blood is in your hands. Unless you bring the perpetrators
of Juba atrocities to book immediately!
The sooner
you end this crisis the better life would be for you or else, ICC would come
snooping for evidence to put you away with your naïve rival, Riek Machar.
Never,
ever, ever say something you can’t prove. How could your body guards allow
someone to shoot outside NLC venue and get away? Why didn’t your body guards
either pursue that lone soldier or shoot him!
If
someone actually shot in the air outside NLC meeting and your body guards let
him run away, then you have to investigate your body guards and someone got to
pay. Otherwise the world would just assume you made it up!
You
haven’t actually told the world what exactly happened at the army headquarters.
Why did the Tiger battalion, a unit of the presidental guards, shoot themselves
leading to the mutiny and then armed rebellion?
Your
intelligence officers need to give South Sudanese and the world proofs of where
the coup was plotted, who was present, what was said etc. South Sudan’s intelligence
leaders should present documents, audios, secret video recordings of the coup
plot. Without these proofs, Mr. President, you are setting yourself up for ICC
investigation.
If
all the things you say come from your advisors then FIRE them because they are
setting you up for failure and public ridicule.