Archive for January 5, 2015

Of the Late Fidel Raila Odinga and Mabior Garang de Mabior

Posted: January 5, 2015 by PaanLuel Wël Media Ltd. in History, PaanLuel Wël

Tribute to Fidel Raila Amolo Odinga

By PaanLuel Wel, Juba

The late Fidel Raila Amolo Odinga and Mabioor Garang de Mabioor

The late Fidel Raila Amolo Odinga and Mabioor Garang de Mabioor

January 5, 2015 (SSB) — In the wake of the sudden and mysterious death of Fidel, the first born son of the former prime minister of Kenya, Raila Amolo Oginga, media reports has surfaced that Mabior Garang de Mabior was among the last persons he was with. Fidel had invited Mabior for a night out at Sankara Hotel, where they stayed till 2.30am, Drinking.

Three interesting items here. The hotel is named after one of the best revolutionaries of Africa, Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso, who was assassinated by his best friend. Secondly, the family of Mabior Garang and Fidel Raila have long relationship dating back to the time of Fidel’s grandfather, Oginga Odinga, helped to secure the release of young John Garang from Kamiti Maximum Security Prison in early 1960s.

Both Garang and Oginga Odinga, plus Thomas Sankara, were self-styled Pan-Africanists. Garang and Sankara died under murky circumstances. Then fate had it that the son of Garang and the grandson of Odinga spent their last time at a hotel named after Thomas Sankara last Saturday. On Sunday morning, Fidel was found dead in his own bedroom, at home, with his wife and one year old son in the next bedroom.

We know not what killed him, and it is very dangerous to speculate at this time since Raila is a high political figure in Kenya and Fidel was destined to inherit that political dynasty.

However, below are two sampled articles attesting to the relationship between the family of Mabior Garang and that of Fidel Odinga.

May his soul rest in peace.

—-

RAILA ODINGA: HOW MY FATHER USED HIS INFLUENCE TO SAVE GARANG FROM EXECUTION,

MAY 4TH 2009

By Mangoa Mosota

Prime Minister Raila Odinga has told of how his late father saved the late Sudanese leader John Garang from execution after he illegally crossed into Kenya in the 1960s. Raila said Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, the first Vice-President and Minister for Home Affairs of independent Kenya, used his influence to save Garang “and his friend who had crossed the border from Ethiopia and reached Moyale on the Kenyan side. They were arrested by Kenyan authorities”.

Raila, who gave the details at a graduation ceremony at a Kisumu-university, said the Sudanese men were jailed at Kamiti Maximum Prison after they were charged in a Marsabit court with being in the country illegally. “They were sentenced by the colonial Government to a jail-term of some few months,” he said.

Raila said Garang told him that a political prisoner, Arthur Ochwada, who was in the same prison, offered to assist Garang. “Ochwada listened to the two young men, and after he was released he informed Jaramogi about their predicament,” Raila recalled Garang telling him at his Nairobi residence a few years before he died.

Yesterday, Raila told an attentive gathering, which included South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, why Garang always referred to him as a brother. Kiir was yesterday conferred with an honorary doctorate degree by Great Lakes University of Kisumu for his struggle for peace in the region.

Raila said Jaramogi called then Uganda President Milton Obote, who offered to allow the detainees to leave Kenya through Uganda. “If they had gone to Khartoum directly, they would have faced instant execution, as they were fighting the Government in newly-launched uprising. But they entered Sudan through Uganda as free men,” divulged the PM. Garang died in a plane crash in Northern Uganda in July 2005.

—-

YOUNG JOHN GARANG ARRESTED IN KENYA

By Oscar Obonyo, The Nation, Aug 28, 2005

Save for the clatter of farm implements in a nearby shamba and the mooing of cows in the neighbourhood, there is relative silence in the homestead. Inside the house, the spacious living room speaks volumes about the colourful political career of the head of the family. The walls are bedecked with black and white framed pictures; images of the man in the company of dignitaries of all shades, including the current and two former presidents of Kenya. These are images of Arthur Aggrey Ochwada in his heyday. All that remains of the good old days are sweet memories of a glorious past. A snake of bitterness has pitched tent in Ochwada’s heart as he ponders his pathos, just when he was about to hit a jackpot; or so he thought. The setting is his home in the small dusty village of Nakhasiko in Funyula constituency of Busia District, about two kilometres away from the Kenya-Uganda border. Days earlier, Ochwada, a former area MP and assistant minister for Natural Resources and Fisheries was awash with excitement.

And the entire village joined in the excitement as they prepared to welcome one of Africa’s greatest sons – Dr John Garang de Mabior. But just before the planned visit, news of Dr Garang’s death on July 30 hit the village like a thunderbolt on August 1. For Ochwada, who was once married to a granddaughter of independent Kenya’s first President, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, the news was heart-breaking at a more personal level. He was set to host Dr Garang in the village. With his head buried in his palms, Ochwada looks up and shakes his head: “We had just reunited after 42 years and my fortunes seemed to have been back on track when he slipped away. This whole experience is quite painful to me.”

Ochwada was a well-connected politician when he secured the release of a young Garang from Nairobi’s Kamiti Maximum Prison, Nairobi, in 1963. At that time, the young Sudanese faced repatriation and possible execution by the Arab administration. Now a peasant cassava farmer and struggling to make ends meet, Ochwada had certainly pegged his hopes on Dr Garang to get him out of the woods. And to boost his chances, he had planned a hero’s reception for the Sudanese First Vice-President, in a ceremony known as Okhwingisa Mudala among the Abasamia of the Luhyia community, just days before Dr Garang perished in a helicopter crash in Southern Sudan.

“Arrangements were in top gear for his visit and we were all waiting for the big day. I was supposed to proceed with him to Southern Sudan soon after the party, although we had not finalized the details,” Ochwada recalls. A few days after his re-union with Dr. Garang in March, this year, Ochwada’s lifestyle was back ’on course’. And during that short period, the Sudanese leader made arrangements for him to meet President Mwai Kibaki. Rubbing shoulders again with the high and mighty was a great feeling for me. We talked for almost half an hour about our days as youthful politicians, the current political situation and my family,” recalls an enlivened Ochwada, his sorrow momentarily drowning in the delight.

Ochwada and President Kibaki first met in the late 1950s and later worked closely in Kanu as the party’s pioneer national officials. Ochwada, a Kanu founder member, served as vice-treasurer while Mr Kibaki was the national executive officer. But the one man who contributed immensely to Ochwada’s political advancement was Mzee Kenyatta, with whom he had close family ties. The former Samia MP’s second wife, Lucy Nyokabi, was a daughter of Peter Muigai Kenyatta – Mzee’s first-born son. There was also the then Vice-President, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, the senior government official who directly assisted Ochwada to secure Dr Garang’s release. Jaramogi Odinga was in charge of the Home Affairs docket, under which the Prisons Department falls.

Ochwada’s home, at one time a hotbed of political, diplomatic and social gatherings, hosting such political heavyweights as retired President Moi, is today a deserted place. Born in Busibi location of Samia, the politician marked his 79th birthday two weeks ago. His late father, Mzee Isaiah Odongo, is the elder brother to Vice-President Moody Awori’s late mother, Maria Nakhulo. A husband to five wives (three of whom he separated with), Ochwada is a father of 15 and a grandfather of 16. The politician was educated at Namboboto Primary School and Maseno High School before joining the Army as a non-combat officer. However, after training he opted to teach at his former primary school between 1947 and 1948. “I did not find the village challenging so I quit teaching and left for Nairobi. In the city, I enrolled for correspondence studies in quantity survey,” he says.

Soon he was employed by Taylor Woodrove East Africa Limited, a building and civil engineering firm, earning a monthly salary of Sh 250 which he says was “more than enough”. He then joined the trade union movement and was elected secretary of the Building Workers’ Union. The union later sponsored him to join the prestigious Harvard University in the US, where he studied economics and public relations.

His entry into politics was accidental with a tinge of luck – thanks to Sir Evelyn Baring, the Governor of the Kenya British colony in the 1950s. Following a state of emergency declared by the Governor in 1952 and the subsequent proscription of political parties, political leaders, including Mzee Kenyatta, were arrested, creating a big vacuum. “I was lured by colleagues to join politics and I took up the challenge to keep the fire burning. Here, I came face to face with veteran trade unionists such as Tom Mboya,” he says. After mingling with such great men, he was transformed into a politician. Within a short time, he was deputising for Mr Mboya in 1954 as secretary-general of the Kenya Federation of Registered Trade Unions (present day Cotu).

As the interview peaks, a newspaper vendor rides into the compound and the old man rushes out for a copy of the Daily Nation. And for a while, silence reigns as the interview takes a short break. After about 10 minutes, he is ready to continue: “Sorry about that. You see I am still a leader around this place and I have to keep abreast with what is happening.” When he was area MP, between 1969 and 1974, he was a respected leader. “During the campaign period we were everywhere, yet nowhere. The 1974 campaigns were particularly volatile and although the dreaded GSU were sent to track down my boys, they failed miserably,” he recalls, bursting into laughter.

Ochwada remembers his secret trip to Maralal on July 14,1961 to visit Mzee Kenyatta who had been placed under house arrest by the colonial government. His main mission was to woo Mzee Kenyatta to join Kanu and not the rival Kadu.

At the time, both parties were scrambling to win the support of Mzee Kenyatta, who had already cut out a name as a national hero. “By the end of our day-long talks we had struck a deal. We agreed this would remain a top secret until Mzee’s eventual release,” he told Lifestyle. Ochwada, the trade unionist with comrade-in-struggle Tom Mboya, who was also independent Kenya’s first Constitutional affairs minister. Unfortunately, Mr Mboya learnt of his secret trip and confronted him for details. The situation became tense when he declined to divulge the details and the two engaged in cold war. “This is how he engineered a smear campaign against me that landed me in jail for allegedly misusing union funds,” he claims. According to Ochwada, the flamboyant unionist who later became Minister for Economic Planning and Development, Mr Mboya, was uncomfortable about his close ties with President Kenyatta and may have wanted him locked out of Parliament.

This development turned out to be a blessing in disguise for poor Dr Garang who was wasting away at Kamiti Maximum Prison. While at the Industrial Area Prison in Nairobi, Ochwada fell sick and was taken to Kamiti Prison hospital where he met Garang in May 1963. The youthful Garang who got wind of the presence of a ’senior Kanu politician’ at the hospital, approached Mr Ochwada for help. “I was touched by his plight and, realising that he may have been victimised, I promised to talk to Mr Odinga on my release four months later,” he says. Mr Odinga accordingly ordered Garang’s release and he moved in with Mr Ochwada at his Nairobi West residence for a year before he and Mr Odinga requested Uganda’s President, Dr Milton Obote, to accommodate Dr Garang.

But having served a jail term, Ochwada opted not to immediately vie for a parliamentary seat. In 1963, Kenyatta appointed him to the regional Central Legislative Assembly, an equivalent of present day East Africa Legislative Assembly. The following year in April, he was elected alongside the late Pio Gama Pinto to a special seat in the Senate in a by-election. In 1969, he successfully wrested the Busia Central (now Mr Awori’s Funyula constituency) seat from Mr Habil Kanani. “All that is now history,” he says. Remembering his last days with the late Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement/Army leader, Mr Ochwada narrates how, in March this year, he came to Nairobi in search of the “young man he rescued.”

The “young man” had equally been trying to locate his old friend and it was a memorable reunion when the two met at the SPLM offices in Kileleshwa, Nairobi. “When I returned a few weeks later as arranged, he was out of the country. However, he had left a note with a Mr James Kok at the SPLM offices to be handed over to the Head of Civil Service, Mr Francis Muthaura,” Ochwada says. Unknown to him, Dr Garang had a sweet surprise for him. When Ochwada handed over the letter, a delighted Mr Muthaura immediately declared him a State guest! “I was both confused and elated. A car and chauffeur were at my disposal and I was booked at a five-star hotel where I stayed for two weeks waiting to meet the President,” he says. When the time finally came, he joined Mr Awori’s convoy, whom he repeatedly refers to as “omusiani wa senge” (my aunt’s son), to State House, Nairobi.

Although he declines to disclose what he discussed with the President, the constant smile on his face gives him away. In the meantime, Ochwada continues to lead a quiet life in the village with his two wives, Ruth and Beatrice. He also sits on the management boards of several local institutions. He says, “I am a down to earth man. I also participate in the activities a number of village and inter-clan welfare associations here.”


Summary Report of Dr. Majak D’Agoot Peace & Reconciliation Rally Held at Nakuru-Kenya on 3rd January 2015.

Dr. Majak D'agoot Atem in Nakuru, Kenya, Jan 3rd, 2015

Dr. Majak D’agoot Atem in Nakuru, Kenya, Jan 3rd, 2015

Introduction

January 5, 2015 (SSB) — Upon the request of South Sudanese Community in Nakuru, Dr. Majak D’Agoot, a member of Former Political Detainees (FPD) hit the Kunste Hotel-Nakuru for the peaceful rally duped “Give Peace & Reconciliation Chance”. The Rally, attended by 4,000 South Sudanese communities from Greater Upper Nile, Greater Equatoria, Greater Bahr El-Ghazal, South Kordofan and Darfur was the first of its kind in the South Rift. The Rally began with a word of prayer from a clergy at 1:45pm, followed by introduction by the chairperson of organizing committee from Greater Upper Nile and thereafter, the Chairperson of South Sudanese Community in Nakuru welcomed Dr. Majak D’Agoot to address the mammoth crowd. As Dr. Majak entered the podium, the crowd burst into liberation songs praising him for great sacrifices he has done for South Sudan when he was a young person. Besides, South Sudanese women chanted emotional songs with one woman jumping to the podium and handed to Dr. Majak a white dove while saying “You represent our hopes, please give us peace”.

Dr. Majak D'agoot Atem in Nakuru, Kenya, Jan 3rd, 2015

Dr. Majak D’agoot Atem in Nakuru, Kenya, Jan 3rd, 2015

Dr. Majak D’Agoot’s Historical Speech and Emerging Issues

He began his speech by thanking the South Sudanese Communities in Nakuru for warmth and historic welcome. He said that South Sudan is at war and thus the communities should not be polarized. Dr. Majak appealed to the leaders in both political divide to prioritize and listen to “Give Peace & Reconciliation Chance”. He wondered why South Sudanese should butcher themselves and they are equal. Dr. Majak analyzed South Sudan on Emile Durkheim sociological Functionalist theory that South Sudan is like a human body. “A mosquito bite in a human body affects all the rest of the body and makes the person uncomfortable and eventually contracts malaria”, he asserted. He reached out to the sea of humanity in the hall to work for unity and build destroyed social fabric. Dr. Majak challenged the conduct of elections on 30th June 2015 and argued that elections should be done after peace. He further said that president Kiir should learn from 2010 poorly organized and highly discredited elections that born conflicts and insurgencies. He advanced the argument and questioned that, what produced George Athor, Gatluak Gai, and David Yau Yau’s rebellions? Was it not election? Dr. Majak pensively asked very at tentative crowd. He also stated that there was no security and time to conduct the elections. He argued that if government has much money this should go into humanitarian relief than throwing it into Abendego Akook’s jackpot. He emphasized that the government in Juba could renew its legitimacy through peace talks in Addis Ababa.

Dr. Majak D'agoot Atem in Nakuru, Kenya, Jan 3rd, 2015

Dr. Majak D’agoot Atem in Nakuru, Kenya, Jan 3rd, 2015

Dr. Majak warned that South Sudan was already a fragile State worst than Somalia. He said this in reference to the 2014 Fragile State Index of Fund for Peace that put South Sudan as the most failed State displacing Somalia that has topped the Index for the last seven years. He argued that a responsible government should prioritize humanitarian relief and assistance to war affected population instead of elections. Dr. Majak further appealed to the thousands ladies and gentlemen in the hall that he would not wish to talk on past issues but on current affairs. He says, “we were ashamed, arrested and freed and still we hold no grudges against South Sudan leaders including president Salva Kiir Mayardit”. Dr. Majak implored all the people of South Sudan to forgive one another and move on with life. He articulates, “We must forgive one another and reconcile our communities”. He narrated that he went to the detention in Juba but he said he does not take it badly. Dr. Majak said that he was aware that South Sudan needs peace now not tomorrow. He appealed to the tearful crowd that his colleagues in G10+ are for sustainable peace and reconciliation. He further says, “We must accept one another and live side by side in peace as citizens of South Sudan”.

Dr. Majak D'agoot Atem in Nakuru, Kenya, Jan 3rd, 2015

Dr. Majak D’agoot Atem in Nakuru, Kenya, Jan 3rd, 2015

Dr. Majak briefly explained that when they were arrested and spent four months plus in the detention, he read the Holy Bible from beginning to the end and re-read again. He caused laughter to the crowd when he said that what he found in the Holy Bible was all false accusations and that that biblical accounts carry Satan false accusation against God; Cain against Abel, Soul against David, Jews against Jesus etc. He then likened these false accusations to what was attributed to them, false coup de’ tat! He pleaded to the citizens to unite the country now so that war is stopped in order to rescue the economy from total collapse. Dr. Majak informed the crowd that when they fought with Arabs, it was for the purpose of buying peace and freedom. He wonders, “what are we buying now as citizens in this senseless war?” He said that if it is leadership and power than it has its owners and thus called all South Sudanese to own peace and development. He said that if the war was a just war, for example an external aggression, he said, they would have fought fiercely to defend national sovereignty even though they were at old ages, however, he said the current war was senseless and they found it unworthy to fight it. Dr. Majak further said that the Country couldn’t be managed through humiliations and discriminations in groups. He said that his group has a vision for sustainable peace, robust economy development to alleviate humiliating poverty, liberal democracy, rule of law and security for all the citizens. The Former Political Detainee said that they did not want to use guns to achieve their vision but through peaceful means. He said that in South Sudan if leaders were providing services and later dictate then it would have been fair…”If we provide services and dictate then that is better, but if we dictate and at the same time we cannot provide basic services then we have failed before you as leaders”. He lamented. Dr. Majak further said that other global dictators at least provide security and services and take away freedoms. He argued that SPLM leadership has shamelessly deprived South Sudanese of peace, security, freedoms and rule of law; livelihoods have been destroyed and more over no basic services.

Dr. Majak D'agoot Atem in Nakuru, Kenya, Jan 3rd, 2015

Dr. Majak D’agoot Atem in Nakuru, Kenya, Jan 3rd, 2015

Dr. Majak wondered how people have perceived them on president Bush’s dictum “either you are with us or with terrorists”. He said this aphorism does not apply to his group. He said they stand with the citizens who have been innocently destroyed in the senseless power struggle that has born war. He said that their central grievance lies on how SPLM was turned out as quasi-NCP. He said that the two right honorable speakers of the National Legislative Assembly and the Council of States were the inner circle strategies of the NCP but were later given those national positions, making them to drive with sirens in Juba for the country they had betrayed in the last 22 years. However the case, Dr. Majak cautioned South Sudanese citizens to live in unity and to reject people that divide them. He said that Jieng/Monyjang must be accommodative and live as a leader thus spare other communities for purpose of peace and reconciliation. He said that the warring leaders have taken peace for pride and as a less serious affair. He said that they met President Salva Kiir in Uganda as G10+ on the invitation of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni but nothing substantively came out of such meeting. On the other hand he said that Arusha Intra-SPLM dialogue is not yielding any fruit either. Dr. Majak concluded his remarks by heartily appealing to the South Sudanese citizens to unite and forgive one another as God has said in the Holy Bible. He said Peace and Reconciliation was his message. He paid a special gratitude to the Nakuru residents for coming out in large numbers to receive him and promised to relay such historical reception to his other G10+ colleagues in Nairobi.

Dr. Majak D'agoot Atem in Nakuru, Kenya, Jan 3rd, 2015

Dr. Majak D’agoot Atem in Nakuru, Kenya, Jan 3rd, 2015

Question and Answer Session

After Dr. Majak historical speech, the master of ceremonies went to the Q & A session to provide citizens with engagement platform with Dr. Majak. A Few citizens selected from the country three Greater Regions asked questions that Dr. Majak answered.

  1. After you were released from the prisoner, why don’t you stay in South Sudan then?

Dr. Majak replied that they did not leave South Sudan instead he said that the country leadership in Juba sent them away. He said that he told congregation at Emmanuel Jieng Parish in Juba after his release that he was determined to stay with his people in Juba. Dr. Majak said after he was released, his community did a thanksgiving prayer ceremony that attracted over 15,000 people at his residence in Juba. In this ceremony, he said, they were called by the Kenyan National Security Director General to prepare to go to Kenya. On hearing this he turned down the request that day and told his colleagues: Pagan Amum Okiech, Oyai Deng Ajak and Ezekiel Lul Gatkuoth to go as he was attending his ceremony. He said after his prayers at his house, the Kenyan National Security Service Director General returned to Juba and asked him to come to Nairobi on the ground that South Sudan government was not ready to protect him. Dr. Majak said that they were told that if they stayed around, they would have brainwashed the citizens by telling them the truth of their detention. He said that he found himself in Kenya, which was not his plan.

Dr. Majak D'agoot Atem in Nakuru, Kenya, Jan 3rd, 2015

Dr. Majak D’agoot Atem in Nakuru, Kenya, Jan 3rd, 2015

  1. If African Union makes any decision on peace, what will be your decision (sic…)?

Dr. Majak said that he would support any decision the African Union will make in resolution to South Sudan political fiasco. He said that he stand for peace and reconciliation. He said that they would continue to talk in low tones to bring peace to the country. He said his position is peace. He emphasizes “If God fall from heaven and take away all the guns and bring peace to our impoverished population, I stand for that”.

  1. You are neutral people, SPLM fought on itself, how should you bring peace to our country?

Dr. Majak responded that SPLM must unite in order for peace to come to South Sudan. He said that there was a need to eschew ethnicization of politics and politicization of ethnicities. He rejected ethnic parties and sectarian tendencies. He lamented the Dinka are hovering on the control of SPLM, Nuer on SPLM-IO, Chollo on SPLM-DC etc. He further said that the country has been divided into Greater Regions for satisfaction of political leaders’ interests. Where is the Greater South Sudan then? He wondered.

Dr. Majak condemned ethnic lobbyists groups and unions such as Jieng/Dinka Council of Elders, Naath/Nuer Council of Elders and Equatoria Council of Elders because according to him they entrenched sectarianism and ethnic outbidding political discourse. He questioned why such ethnic unions mushroomed during the conflicts.

Dr. Majak D'agoot Atem in Nakuru, Kenya, Jan 3rd, 2015

Dr. Majak D’agoot Atem in Nakuru, Kenya, Jan 3rd, 2015

  1. What are you doing differently as G10+ to bring peace to South Sudan?

Dr. Majak replied that as a group they stand for liberal democracy, rule of law, good governance, vibrant economy, security for all, equitable development and peace and reconciliation. He said that they are the history of South Sudan and thus any narration of liberation history must touch all of them. He pointed out they are not thirsty for power as many people have claimed. Dr. Majak appealed to the people to reject wrong innuendos, which have been said about them, noting that they have been said by the people to blackmail them. He said that they have decided to be the voice of citizens calling for the senseless war to stop.

  1. You have been in the Government for eight years, why after you were relieved you said the Government is bad, why (sic—)?

Dr. Majak said that the impression was not true. He said after murder of Isaiah Abraham, he fiercely criticized the Government while still serving as Deputy Minister for Defense and Veteran Affairs. He also added that when he was appointed as the Deputy Minister for Defense and Veteran Affairs after the independence, he had refused the position on the ground that he was not consulted and then preferred to stay as an ordinary citizen. However, he said pressures from his colleagues in the Government, South Sudanese communities and his friends made him to succumb to take the deputy ministry job. Dr. Majak clarified that he has never been thirsty for power nor hunt for political positions. He said he has been ready to serve and build his country in any capacity including being an ordinary citizen. On the other hand, he said even his colleague Pagan Amum Okiech while still the SG for SPLM in March 2015 said that the country would fail given intensified personalized power struggles in the party. On reprisal, he was suspended from the party. Dr. Majak said that he has said many things when he was still in the Government and not just now when he is outside the Government.

Dr. Majak D'agoot Atem in Nakuru, Kenya, Jan 3rd, 2015

Dr. Majak D’agoot Atem in Nakuru, Kenya, Jan 3rd, 2015

  1. We have three branches of SPLM, what unite you as a bigger SPLM family?

Dr. Majak replied that a competence leadership that combat poverty, enhance security to citizens, maintain rule of law, build vibrant economy and provide basic services to the South Sudanese equitably would unite them.

  1. I am asking this question as a woman, we have suffered a lot as women in Greater Upper Nile and scattered everywhere. How would you bring us together?

Dr. Majak responded that the question the woman asked was quite sorrowful and full of sympathies. He said that the words the woman expressed were being said by another a woman in Panrieng, Kodok, Malakal, Bor, Akobo, Duk, Twic East, Uror, Baliet etc. He bemoaned that South Sudan has killed itself. “We have butchered ourselves for nothing” he grieved. He assured the highly charged tearful women that accountability would be done to the people who have committed war crimes, crime against humanity and genocide. Dr. Majak said that Dr. John Garang De’ Mabior’s leadership was not characterized by death of civilians but by the death of soldiers in the battlefields. He said that the murdering of innocent citizens under the current regime is unacceptable. He said the communities have been instigated to slaughter one another: Jieng vs Jieng, Nuer vs Jieng, Nuer vs Nuer, Chollo vs Maban, Didinga vs Buya, Taposa vs Taposa etc. He said that the SPLM must come before South Sudanese citizens and say sorry for what has been done.

Dr. Majak D'agoot Atem in Nakuru, Kenya, Jan 3rd, 2015

Dr. Majak D’agoot Atem in Nakuru, Kenya, Jan 3rd, 2015

Dr. Majak concluded that the upcoming peace must be different from other peace agreements because it will be built on accountability to enhance its sustainability. He assured the citizens that everyone would carry his/her own Cross. He emphasized that justice must be tweaked with reconciliation. Dr. Majak revealed that as leaders they must carry the SPLM Cross, particularly the living SPLM leaders, except Dr. John Garang and the dead comrades. He said Comrade Salva Kiir Mayardit and all of them would carry the SPLM Cross although the sizes of Cross would be different. Dr. Majak expressed optimism that African Union Olusugun Obasanjo’s Commission of Inquiry would in crystal clear judgment tell citizens what happened. He said people would be definitely held accountable and that would be a great lesson to others. He paused and said that South Sudan will never be the same again.

Dr. Majak D'agoot Atem in Nakuru, Kenya, Jan 3rd, 2015

Dr. Majak D’agoot Atem in Nakuru, Kenya, Jan 3rd, 2015

The End of the Rally

Dr. Majak ended his heart-touching remarks by thanking the sea of multitudes in the hall and assured them that No one is greater than God and thus God would wipe out tears off their faces. He appreciated the audience and shared their sorrows and tribulations. He promised the crowd that next time he would come with some of his colleagues in G10+ to talk to Nakuru residents. He also hoped that one day all the SPLM groups would unite as one group to talk peace and prosperity to South Sudanese in Nakuru. Dr. Majak then walked around the hall and greeted people. He then returned to the podium. A representative from Greater Bahr El-Ghazal region delivered a vote of thanks to Dr. Majak and the attendees, thereafter; the senior clergy closed the peaceful rally with a word of prayer at 5:00Pm local time.

Dr. Majak D'agoot Atem in Nakuru, Kenya, Jan 3rd, 2015

Dr. Majak D’agoot Atem in Nakuru, Kenya, Jan 3rd, 2015

Conclusively, the Rally was a great success and the organizing committee thanked everyone single south Sudanese who attended the Rally and particularly Dr. Majak’s Kenya Strategy Team. Other more Peaceful Rallies would be held across Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan, Great lakes Countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East, Caribbean & Pacific, Asia, Oceanic, Europe and North America in order to restore hope to South Sudan war broken hearts and to call for peace and reconciliation.

Compiled by Dr. Majak D’ Agoot’s Kenya Tour Team, Nakuru Sub Office.


The SSB’s Persons of the Year

By PaanLuel Wël, Juba

Happy New Year 2015 Junubeen

Happy New Year 2015 Junubeen

January 5, 2015 (SSB) — In Part One of this series, I have discussed some seven politicians in South Sudan that, I believe, are qualified for the title of the most influential South Sudanese politicians of the year 2014. As previously stated, this is a contentious categorization simply because the concept is both slippery and divisive. With that in mind, here is the continuation of the most influential politicians in the South Sudanese’ political discourse of the year 2014:

  1. Simon Kun Puoch Mar, Governor of Upper Nile State
Governor Simon Kun Puoch (shaking hands) arrives at the Juba International Airport, 21 Feb 2012

Governor Simon Kun Puoch (shaking hands) arrives at the Juba International Airport, 21 Feb 2012

Simon Kun Puoch Mar is the current governor of Upper Nile state and a staunch supporter of President Kiir. On the night of December 15th, 2013, when gunfight broke out in Gyeda within the presidential guards unit, Governor Kun Puoch, like all the governors, was in Juba city, attending the Governors’ Forum. On the 18th of December, he went back to Malakal and publicly disputed the alleged mass killing of Nuer civilians in Juba. Reportedly, he blamed it all on Riek Machar and his supporters—the violent and any life lost on, and in the days following, December 15th mutiny. But most of his subjects, majority of whom were members of his Nuer community, were not swayed by his version of events. They were convinced that a massacre of unarmed Nuer civilians had occurred in Juba and the governor was living in denial, for a reason better known to himself. Consequently, on December 20th, a group of about 50 Nuer elders—led by Maj. Gen. Gathoth Gatkouth who was Governor Simon Kun‘s security advisor and Maj. Gen Saddam Chayuot Manyang—went to see the governor at the state house. Gathoth Gatkuoth and Saddam Chayuot—just like Governor Kun Puoch—hail from Eastern Jikany Nuer community in Upper Nile state. Their mission was to convince the Governor to defect to the rebels and for them to take over Malakal much as Peter Gatdet had defected and took over Bor town. Instead, Governor Simon Kun threatened to arrest them on spot. That night, one version of event narrated, Gathoth Gatkuoth and Saddam Chayuot Manyang escaped to the UNMISS camp, fearing for their lives. On the morning of December 24th, supposedly a merry Christmas Eve, gunfire broke out all over Malakal in a running battle pitting the armed supporters of Riek Machar against the loyalists of the government. On the government side were Governor Simon Kun and Gen. Gony Bilieu—head of SPLA sector three in the Greater Upper Nile Region, based in Malakal. The SPLA defectors took over Malakal after a full day battle. However, the battle of December 24th marked a new rebirth of Governor Simon Kun (having been with the NCP during the SPLM/A war) as a force to reckon with in the South Sudanese politics. Henceforward, he has been leading a vigorous military and political campaign against the rebels—commanded by his former security advisor, Gathoth Gatkuoth—in Upper Nile state. Like Governor Joseph Monytuil of Unity state, Governor Kun Puoch has succeeded to retain the loyalty of armed Nuer soldiers fighting and dying on the side of the government. Within his Jikany Nuer community, he has also succeeded to convince some community leaders and politicians to publicly declare their allegiance to the government. Without him and Gen. Gony Bilieu, it is unthinkable that the government would still be in Malakal, let alone Nasir and other surrounding areas such as Renk and Paloch oilfields. This makes Governor Kun Puoch an influential politician in the republic of South Sudan for the year 2014.

9. Barnaba Marial Benjamin Bil, Secretary of State.

Dr Barnaba Marial Benjamin, 3 March 2011

Dr Barnaba Marial Benjamin, 3 March 2011

Dr. Marial Benjamin (a medical doctor with a certificate in international affairs from Southern Africa) is currently South Sudan’s minister for Foreign Affairs. Like Hon. Makwei Lueth, he is among the few ministers who have been in office since the constitution of GoSS in 2005. Hon. Marial first entered into South Sudanese politics in early 1983 when Riek Machar (then a student in the UK) and Hon. Benjamin Bol Akook founded the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) party. By then, Marial was in London and was among the founders of the SRF, formed (just like the SPLM/A) to fight for the liberation of the whole Sudan. In 1984, Bol Akook died mysteriously in Addis Ababa, a death blamed on Kerubino Kuanyin Bol; and Riek Machar later ended up joining the SPLM/A and became Chairman Garang’s adjutant. Marial followed Riek into the SPLM/A. Chairman Garang appointed him the SPLM/A representative to Southern African countries. Dr. Kon Bior Duoot was the SPLM representative to East Africa countries, while Elijah Malok Aleng (for a while) was sent to DRC Congo, representing SPLM in the Franco-phone nations. When Riek Machar rebelled in 1991, Ater and Maker Benjamin Bil, Marial brothers, joined him. Marial remained with the mainstream SPLM/A; he never left the Movement, much of which might explain his long tenure in Kiir’s government and past closeness to Chairman Garang. Since the civil war broke out in December 2013, Marial has been the face and voice of the government on international and regional arenas. He has been thoroughly grilled on BBC Hardtalks and has appeared on other numerous news media and forums not just to explain controversial government policies but also to defend inexplicable government positions. Unlike the aggressive and volatile Hon. Makwei Lueth, Marial is cool-headed and measured, well educated and very informed about the interplays of international relations. This is why President Kiir sent him to Washington DC when the Obama administration threatened to levy sanction on the warring factions of South Sudan. The visit paid off handsomely, for the UN bill initiated by the USA was later withdrawn at the insistence of the USA government. Like a great politician, Marial has sometimes lied his ways into arguments. His lies, however, are clothed in subtleties that make you sympathize with the arduous role he is playing for the government that he serves. This is one individual that President Kiir has been relying on for the formulation of his muddled foreign policies. Besides John Gai Yoh, minister for education, Marial Benjamin is one shinning star among the minister of South Sudan. Though definitely a member of the 75 mafia, he seems to be moderately corrupted, for that matter.

 10. Telar Takpiny Ring Deng, the Power behind the Throne

Telar Ring Deng, later South Sudan President Salva Kiir's nominee to become the new justice minister, 21 June 2014

Telar Ring Deng, later South Sudan President Salva Kiir’s nominee to become the new justice minister, 21 June 2014

In medieval European kingdoms, there used to be a person, or a group of them, that informally exercises the real power of the reigning king or queen. In our modern era, there still are individuals, or a privileged clique, who still serve as the de facto leader, setting policy through possessing great influence and/or skillful manipulation of national politics. In most modern nation-states, it is either the spouse (Michelle Obama in the USA) or the close relatives/brother/son (Museveni’s brother, Salim, in Uganda) or a mother/father (Mama Ngina Kenyatta, mother of President Uhuru, in Kenya). In the republic of South Sudan, that person, at least in the years and months and days leading up to December 15th, has been Hon. Telar Ring Takpiny Deng. During the war, Telar was a military magistrate under SPLA zonal Commander Riek Machar Teny. He was entrusted with determining nothing less than the life and death of SPLA soldiers under his lawyerly jurisdiction. He joined the Nasir camp in 1991 but was the first leader, together with Dengtiel Ayuen Kuur, to return to the SPLM/A, partly in disgust with the 1991 Bor Massacre and partly in protest to the signing of the traitorous Frankfurt Agreement between the Nasir group and Khartoum government. After the CPA, Telar was appointed minister of the presidency of Southern Sudan in 2005. Telar and Aleu Ayieny bitterly fell out with President Kiir, an incident that Aleu Ayieny squarely blamed on Pagan Amum. Commander Aleu Ayieny, then in charge of SPLM/A military intelligence and security, was adamant that the Ugandan government, with the assistance of some rogue elements within the SPLM/A who had long been anti-Garang, was responsible for the demised of Dr. John Garang. Both gentlemen were summarily dismissed from the SPLM party on 23 November 2007. Both men, however, were reinstated into the SPLM party by a presidential decree on August 28, 2009 and then made a spectacularly comeback, with, first, their appointments as presidential advisors. Telar was the legal presidential advisor. Critics maintain that it was Telar Ring Deng, the power behind the throne, who masterminded the suspension of Pagan Amum as a retribution for their dismissal in 2007, and later the sacking of the entire cabinet in July 2013 that saw Dr. Riek Machar losing the post of the vice presidency. In effect, the argument goes, Telar is politically responsible for the events that later culminated into Dec 15th violence. And because the dismissed members of the cabinet believed that it was Telar who had engineered their political downfall, they effectively ganged up in parliament and successfully blocked the appointment of Telar as Minister for Justice. When the West and the UN threatened targeted sanctions on South Sudan, President Kiir, in a move calculated to demonstrate his eastwardness, dispatched Telar to Moscow as his ambassador, effectively countering Western pressure. Besides Gen. Malong Awan, there is no any other person in South Sudan who is as politically influential as Telar Ring Takpiny Deng. He is the power behind the throne; some claim him to be ‘the de facto president’ of South Sudan.

 11. Peter Adwok Nyaba, the Nation Sorcerer

South Sudan's Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Peter Adwok Nyaba (center), celebrates the first anniversary of the country's independence in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, on July 9, 2012.

South Sudan’s Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Peter Adwok Nyaba (center), celebrates the first anniversary of the country’s independence in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, on July 9, 2012.

Few politicians in South Sudan are as well educated and legendarily controversial as Dr. Peter Adwok Nyaba. It was Adwok Nyaba who advised the scheming Lam Akol to recruit Dr. Riek Machar (he has a bigger Nuer following, Adwok instruct) for the launch of the 1991 Nasir coup. It was Adwok Nyaba who penned the December 6th press statement by the Riek-Pagan-Nyandeng group that later precipitated political temperatures in Juba and ushered in the Dec 15th mutiny that led to the second rebellion of Riek Machar. Technically speaking, his critics insist vehemently, Adwok Nyaba is somewhat responsible for the first and second rebellion of Riek Machar. Adwok Nyaba joined the SPLM/A, together with Lam Akol, in 1986, but he was wounded in his first battle. He took leave from the movement and went to Asmara, Eritrea, to teach as a university professor. He divided his time between Asmara and Itang refugee camp, and in the process got involved (recruited by Prof. Barry Wanji) in the internal agitation for reform and democratization within the SPLM/A, a process that was then fervently resisted by all the top echelon of the movement, including Lam Akol and Riek Machar who had not yet fallen out with Chairman Garang. It was by this time that Lam Akol used to declare that the SPLM/A is too young to care about human rights and democracy, telling Khartoum delegations in Nairobi that, to paraphrase, we have jailed and killed and we are going to jail and kill more because we, as a young movement, can’t take chance with our survival. When Lam fell out with Garang, it was natural that he would approach Adwok Nyaba since it was the likes of Adwok and Wanji who were agitating for change. Adwok convinced the arrogant Lam Akol to aaporach and persuade Riek Machar to lead the rebellion against Garang, arguing that it was only Riek who have the numbers to confront Garang. Lam did as told and Adwok became the spiritual father of the 1991 Nasir coup. He later resigned spectacularly and rejoined the SPLM/A, an occasion that he marked with the publication of a highly sentimental book that demolished every one—Garang, Riek, Lam, Kerubino, Arok etc.—except himself. In a second edition of that book, he had already concluded that the only solution to the survival of the SPLM/A and the unity of South Sudanese was the total elimination of John Garang. But he had nowhere else to go, having been arrested for over six months by Lam Akol having declared Riek as an idiot, and, because he hated the Arabs, could not bring himself to go to Khartoum like Riek and Lam Akol, his accomplices. He stayed put sulking in the SPLM till the CPA and was later appointed minister, first in Khartoum on SPLM ticket and later in Juba, a position he held till he was ousted in July 2013. That is when he became the brainpower of Riek-Pagan-Nyandeng faction of the SPLM and wrote the press statement of December 6th that President Kiir didn’t take kindly to. When Dec 15th occurred, Adwok Nyaba was placed under house arrest, his passport confiscated, long after the rest of the jailed leaders were released. Even under house arrest, he was writing, and became the first person to officially put out the theory that explain what happened on the night of December 15th: he claim that Nuer soldiers were illegally disarmed while their Dinka counterparts were re-armed; this triggered the gunfight that evening in Gieda military barrack within the presidential guards. According to him, it was a premeditated ploy by the president to disarm the Nuer soldiers and then to arrest Dr. Riek Machar and other senior members of the SPLM who had attended the December 6th press conference. In June 2014, Adwok Nyaba resigned from the SPLM party and joined Dr. Riek Machar, the very man he had lambasted and called tribal bigot in his own book. Whatever one thinks of Adwok Nyaba, however inconsistently he is, he is an intellectual of the rare caliber. His prose are elegant and his mind sharp. His two recent books, both on the contemporary independent South Sudan are great reads. The main conundrum though is what to make of his ever-shifting ideological and political stance. He doesn’t seem to believe in his own analysis. Who would in the future?

 12. Nhial Deng Nhial, Government chief negotiator in Addis Ababa

President Kagame received Gen. Nhial Deng Nhial, Minister of SPLA and Veterans Affairs of Southern Sudan, 4 May 2011

President Kagame received Gen. Nhial Deng Nhial, Minister of SPLA and Veterans Affairs of Southern Sudan, 4 May 2011

If there is anyone in South Sudan, and during the SPLM/A, who can come close to claim the title of a princeling, then it is Hon. Nhial Deng Nhial. He is the son of Martyred William Deng Nhial. For the largely uninformed Dinka mass, the politics of liberation in South Sudan commenced with Deng Nhial and then ended with John Garang. The rest is secondary, for few among them are aware of Father Saturlino or Joseph Lagu or Joseph Oduho. It was over Nhial Deng Nhial that Commander Salva Kiir fell out with Chairman Garang in 2004 after it was rumored that Garang was grooming the much younger Nhial to take over from Salva Kiir. The other was Pagan Amum to take over from Wani Igga, or so the rumor went. Pagan and Nhial would have then competed to take over from Garang. Salva Kiir was not amused and he made his displeasure known publicly but peacefully; history has the records. Nhial Deng, like Majak Agoot and Gier Chuang, were among the youngest commanders of the SPLM/A. As Salva Kiir was grooming Majak Agoot, Garang was grooming Nhial Deng. It is alleged that Garang used to shield him from being sent to the frontlines or from the dangerous hands of Kerubino, Nyuon and Arok. A lawyer by profession, Nhial Deng often worked as the movement de facto foreign affairs ministers, particularly after the defection of Lam Akol in 1991. He was very instrumental in the negotiation of the CPA and was one of the chief signatories. When Garang died in 2005, Nhial Deng became one of the so-called Garang Orphans as Kiirists sidelined him, probably, owing to the 2004 Yei-Rumbek crisis. He consequently took a long leave from the SPLM party and went into self-imposed political exile in London. He later reconciled with President Kiir and was appointed defense minister in preference to Kuol Manyang Juuk. He was in the cabinet until July 2013 when he was kicked out of the government. Thereafter he became associated with the Riek-Pagan-Nyandeng faction; he attended the December 6th press conference. But then President Kiir poached him from that camp and appointed him South Sudan chief negotiator, a position that had hitherto been held by Pagan until he was suspended from his position and placed under house arrest in mid-2013. By the time December 15th occurred, Nhial was firmly in the government, having effectively abandoned his Garang Boys, of which he was a co-leader with Pagan. He is currently leading government negotiation with the Riek Machar’s rebels in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Because politics in South Sudan is highly tribalized and personalized, Nhial Deng, together with Majak Agoot, is one of the young leaders that the Dinka community can still hope to vie for the office of the president in the future. He is young, educated and has a great record in the liberation struggle. The main problem is that he is largely detached and aloof from the common people. He has no charisma or passion of his former boss, John Garang, nor the humility of his current boss, President Kiir. He is sober-minded though, unlike the firebrand Pagan Amum or the seemingly elitist Majak Agoot.

 13. Alfred Lado Gore, Deputy leader of the SPLM/A-IO

Alfred Lado Gore, with Riek Machar, in Pagak, Upper Nile state, 12 DEC 2014

Alfred Lado Gore, with Riek Machar, in Pagak, Upper Nile state, 12 DEC 2014

In the mid-1960s, young John Garang and his buddy, Alfred Lado Gore, went to visit Anyanya one camp in the Equatoria region. They were students in East Africa. By then, there was a bitter blood feud between the Dinkas and Equatorians; Major Kuol Amuom had killed his colleague, Michael Loruwe, an Equatorian, near the Sudan-Congo border, due to disputes over arms procurement. The two communities were therefore technically at war. This was unbeknown to the two adventurous buddies, who were too intoxicated with paper ideologies—of African Socialism of Julius Nyerere and Pan-Africanism of Walter Rodney—that they were eager to see operating in the Anyanya one camp. Previously, especially around 1962-3, young Garang had stayed with the younger brothers of Joseph Lagu in a refugee camp in Uganda. It was therefore natural for Garang to mingle among Equatorians or the people of Greater Bahr el Ghazal among whom he was educated. Upon arrival in one of the Anyanya one camp, Garang was arrested and sentenced to death, by firing squad. It took the intervention of Chief Andrea Gore, the father of Alfred Lado, to rescue Garang from imminent death. When the SPLM/A was founded in July 1983, Lado Gore was appointed the chief ideologue of the movement, a position that he held until he was arrested by William Nyuon (in collusion with Kerubino and Arok) who accused him of being a dangerous Marxist who was plotting to take over the movement with the help of Chol Deng Alaak, George Maker Benjamin and Amon Wantok, among others. Garang’s order to release him fell on deaf ears; he languished in jail until he was freed in the wake of the 1991 Nasir. Thereafter, in a surprise move, Lado Gore defected from the SPLM/A and joined the Nasir camp, alongside his former tormentors in the persons of William Nyuon, Kerubino Kuanyin and Arok Thon. When Joseph Oduho was killed in Kongor in March 1993, Lado Gore blamed it on Lam Akol and Riek Machar. Thus, he left the Nasir faction and, together with Dr. Richard K. Mullah and Prof Barry Wanji, formed the South Sudan Freedom Front (SSFF), hilariously referred to as South Sudan Food First—SSFF. Though their party was both politically and military inconsequential at the grassroots, they, much to their credit, never killed anyone nor did they troop to Khartoum like Riek Machar, Lam Akol, Kerubino Kuanyin, Arok Thon etc. Lado Gore later rejoined the SPLM, but was then greatly surpassed by James Wani Igga, his fellow Bari from Juba. He was appointed a presidential advisor by President Kiir. His hope to get elected governor of Central Equatoria state was grounded when the government backed Clement Wani Kong’a, a former Mundari militia leader allied to Khartoum. Lado Gore decided to stand as an independent candidate. When results came in, he cried foul, claiming that the election was rigged in favor of Clement Wani. From that time onward, he never had a close working relationship with President Kiir. His removal from the cabinet in July 2013 saw him siding with Riek Machar. Consequently, he fled the city on the night of December 15th. He was later appointed deputy to Riek Machar in a move designed to attract the political and military support of the Equatorians. It is believed that his presence in the rebel movement is meant to dispel government’s claim that Riek Machar’s rebellion is nothing more than a rebellion by one tribe against the other 63 tribes of South Sudan. Lado Gore was among the first Equatorian leaders to join the SPLM/A in the 1980s; now, he is again among the first Equatorian leaders to join Riek Machar’s second rebellion. It remains to be seen whether or not his presence in the rebellion would translate into some considerable political and military supports from the Equatoria region.

14. John Luke Jok, Former Justice Minister

Minister John Luk at press conference in Juba, 7 April 2011

Minister John Luk at press conference in Juba, 7 April 2011

To the minds of most South Sudanese, John Luke Jok is synonymous with the current transitional constitution of the republic of South Sudan that has given President Kiir unfettered powers that some consider to might have contributed to the outbreak of civil war on December 15th, 2013. John Luke, just like Barnaba Marial Benjamin, was a founding member of Riek Machar’s SRF party. He sided with the Nasir group in 1991. He later fell out with Riek Machar and was arrested and imprisoned in Waat, together with Simon Gatwech Dual. Both gentlemen are from Lou Nuer and Riek Machar, according to Lam Akol, was convinced that they were out to overthrow him from the SSIM/A leadership, especially after the outbreak of Nuer civil war pitting Lou Nuer against Jikany Nuer. As a result, John Luke returned to the SPLM/A much earlier than other defectors: he came back in 1995 after the signing of the Lafon Declaration between the SPLM/A and William Nyuon Bany. He once more became a prominent member of the movement and was part of the CPA negotiation team. He was humbly defeated in his home constituency of Akobo during the 2010 general election. He was later appointed to various ministries, among them Petroleum and Justice. It was under his ministry of justice that he drafted and controversially bulldozed through parliament the current version of the transitional constitution. Critics allege that the interim constitution has given immense powers to the presidency, powers that have been abused by President Kiir, the result of which is the present civil war. John Luke was fired in July 2013 and later ended up joining the anti-Kiir elements within the ruling SPLM party. On December 15th, he was arrested and put on trial. Upon release, he left for East Africa where he is currently the spokesperson for the former SPLM political detainees—better known as the SPLM-Leaders.


By Apioth Mayom Apioth, USA

pioocku

January 5, 2015 (SSB) — I once asked a colleague of mine to tell me what the Dinka called a snow, and he said, “Deng tueny abik,” literally translating to a “rain that pours a flour.” A flour in the sense of the word in that a snow looks powdery in its form. In the above translation, one word, the snow, splintered into three words of Deng, tueny, and abik.

Not that there is something there is something grossly wrong with combining commonplace words to coin new words; it is just that the translation read like a sentence; when it should have been a word to word transaction; with one word begetting an equitably another word.

In its counterpart English, two different words are combined all the time to create new words. Words like shoreline, motorboat, and many more come to mind. Along the same lines, the best translation would have been “dengabik.” Combining commonplace words to coin new words is no a no-brainer indeed, however, creating entirely new words is the best way forward. It helps in enriching our language, thus making it richer and diverse to create space for a culture to expand its horizons.

Globalization is at our doorsteps, and how we filtered it to make it works best for us, rather than allowing it to sweep us away with its junkie’s tidal waves is everyone’s business.

The best stage actors who can help us tremendously in spearheading this initiative are our elders, traditional chieftains, and the creative class, and by the creative class, I mean those who make their living in the arts and entertainment business. Our comedians, singers, and artists reign supreme here. Singers, comedians, and artists are always the first people who get to interact with new technologies and cultural events before everyone else.

In addition, their businesses force them to deal with large audience from time to time. Since the creative class are the first people to interact with new occurrences, they would do us some greater good to come up with new words every time they run into such things, before rushing to sell us their products.

One slight problem about our elders and traditional chieftains is their conservative grip of the culture. They pride themselves as the guardians of the culture; so once a new strange occurrence arrives on the horizon, they are bound to fight it with all their might instead of incorporating and create something new out of it.

On the other hand, they could also be a good untapped resourceful reservoir because their familiarity with the Dinka language could help to come with new words since they would be standing on a familiar ground. That is only if they could open up for the sake of our people.

I could have mentioned our writers without any hesitancy, however, they write in foreign languages such as English and French, and so they are busy enriching those languages with their gifted talents.

Having seen what the other actors are preoccupied with; the major task falls heavily on the creative class to do our bidding. First and foremost, the coinage of new words and the task of incorporating them into a language is not as easy as a child’s play. One of the fastest route to its incorporation into a language is when famous people take the lead and dutifully use their facilitatory means to inject them into their works.

In addition, caution must be taken at all times to avoid creating words that don’t make sense, meaning it would be a total injustice if anyone of this creative class starts creating words out of the blue, and those words happen to be unrelated to anything in the Dinka language, or the Dinka traditions and customs.

A language is a storage granary of a people; it showcases epochal growths of a people, highlighting how we reach our modern times, and a possible guiding framework into the future.

When we are talking about a possible encroachment of a foreign language or an element; we are merely mentioning how we can possibly position ourselves to adapt to those new changes.