Isaiah Abraham, In His Own Words
We tried in our simple way to lead our life in a manner that may make a difference to those of others…what counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead…real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people…Death is something inevitable. When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace. I believe I have made that effort and that is, therefore, why I will sleep for the eternity… If I had my time over I would do the same again. So would any man who dares call himself a man…many people in this country have paid the price before me and many will pay the price after me—Assortments of quotes from Nelson Mandela, quoted in memory of Isaiah Abraham who was politically assassinated on December 5th, 2012, in Juba, South Sudan.
By PaanLuel Wël, Juba City, South Sudan.
Tribute to Isaiah Abraham: The Dark Ages of South Sudan Liberation
That Isaiah Abraham was a passionate writer is in no doubt, and so is the prevailing conviction that he was killed due to his political writings that knew no sacred cows among the high and the mighty of South Sudan’s political and military establishments. Fundamental to Isaiah Abraham’s writings and arguments was his seemingly sacrosanct conviction that the newly independent state of South Sudan under the leadership of President Salva Kiir Mayaardit has completely lost direction because it has failed to deliver the expected fruits of independence. And because President Kiir has failed to steer the country in the right direction, his argument goes, he must be replaced with another capable leader within the SPLM party.
That new capable and enlightened leader that would usher in the new republic of South Sudan as envisioned during the war of liberation, according to Isaiah Abraham, must be none other than Guandit—Dr. Riek Machar Teny, the current Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan. Unlike most South Sudanese opinion writers who are, habitually, fond of pointing out problems—real and warranted as they might be, Isaiah Abraham was very unique in the sense that he not only pointed out problems confronting the young republic of South Sudan, he also provided solutions—contentious as they do appear sometimes to some sections of his readers and South Sudanese at large.
Isaiah Abraham was also highly controversial, heartily backing views and opinions and positions that were largely unfavorable to most sections of his readers and South Sudanese. For instance, he was supporting Bashir against Yasir Arman, Bashir against the ICC, Dr. Riek against President Kiir, the SPLM/A against the opposition parties. And although he was unquestionably a staunch supporter of South Sudanese independence, he sometimes gave credit to Khartoum in some controversial circumstances unlike most other South Sudanese who oft-time give blanket condemnations to Khartoum on all occasions.
His unyielding opposition to and strong denunciation of Salva Kiir’s presidency was uncharacteristic of other writers who might have held the same opinion on and conclusion about Kiir’s leadership. Below are some of his harshest comments about President Kiir and his rule that, some believe, must have cost him his precious life:
“The document should not have gone like that, people. Unfortunately, little did we know that Kiir has become another (Abyei Chief) Deng Majok who exchanged his ancestral land rights for a single meal? Shame on Kiir and his cohorts! Kiir must go! He is a useless leader this country could have. His foul mouthing is not tolerable anymore…mile 14 and Panthou are sold out for no reasons at all. Oil or no oil, we have been cheated by a ruthless clique in Juba…my people have suffered under President Kiir and his heartless clique; I have no kind words again against these people…the demonstration we made as people of South Sudan on Monday, not as Northern Bahr El Ghazal people, will go down in history as the beginning of things to come…Mr. President is not apologetic and this is worrying. The people of this country deserve a leader that respects their views. We have never had problems with him since he accidently ascended to power in 2005, because the situation dictated that people exercise patience…for the past eight years we have learned bitterly that Mr. Kiir is the problem and should be removed. He has failed us in many fronts, and on this matter of land he must not be forgiven…our men in uniform in Mile 14 therefore are to remain in their places and let Mulana Makuei, Mbeki or Pagan come and dislodge them by force. AU must deploy any troops around Mile 14. We will see how to go about Panthou and Abyei now that someone [Kiir] is selling our lands to Arabs.”
Isaiah Abraham had not always been too critical of President Kiir. Back in 2007, in an article entitled ‘Sudan’s Salva Kiir Has to Live Up to the Job’, Mr. Abraham lauded Kiir for his numerous achievements:
Nobody anywhere would underestimate the kind of job H.E. the President is undertaking. No one further doubts his desire and honest attempts to lead. We are proud of what he has achieved this far and only congratulated ourselves for having him as our leader over those achievements. Few glamorous among them are listed below. He has kept the Movement (SPLM/A) united and alive. He has played a significant role to bringing on board Major Gen. Paulino Matip Nhial and many more. He has warmed up relationship with other like-minded groups of the opposition side of the debate. He has also helped sustain an entity in the Government of Southern Sudan and allowed free hands to his Ministers even for them to propose their own Under Secretaries. These are lofty things done under His Excellency the President unless we forget!
In the article “Is Kiir riding on Machar’s back? March 24, 2010” Isaiah Abraham had the following telling conclusion on President Kiir:
“Despite every negative perception we might conclude about his government, our hero (Comrade Mayardit) will be remembered as a leader who first hoisted the Southern flag and established the government of the people of Southern Sudan from nowhere…Kiir as an individual espoused for his people’s cause most of his life, besides being personally a great listener and a principled man…Our big brother Kiir has his place among our founding fathers (Emidio Tafeng, Saturino Lohure, Joseph Lagu, Deng Nhial, John Garang, Samuel Gai, Ali Gutwalla, Both Diu, Lazarus Mutek, Kerubino Kuanyin, Abel Alier, William Nyuon, etc). Thank you sir, may God give you peace!”
It has never been in question that Isaiah Abraham was always fond of—or as his critics claimed, worshipped—VP Dr. Riek Machar. The tone and the themes of the article “Is Kiir riding on Machar’s back? March 24, 2010” were all choreographed to drive that point home—President Kiir was using Dr. Riek Machar’s popularity with the lay people to garner support and to win the 2010 election. That had earlier been alluded to in the article “Ugandan peace must not be abandoned, December 3, 2008” when Isaiah Abraham wrote:
“Am a very proud man as Southern Sudanese to have Dr. Machar manages this huge responsibility with maturity, calmness and forthright posture; he has shown the world that he’s more than just a Southern leader but an international one”
In the article “Macharphobia and Macharmania are unnecessary, September 25, 2009” he offered unrestrained praise and unrivalled admiration for Dr. Machar:
“Don’t just caught up in fear when you hear Dr. Machar name, its just too bad for you, there is no basis for doing this. Not at all! For the good of Southern Sudan and the generation to come, the man at the moment is this ’dhol’ called Dr. Riek Machar Teny Dhorgun. He is a quintessence of Singapore Yew Khem Yew, the man who pulled out that country less than forty years ago, from nowhere to somewhere in the world economic and prosperous map. Please let’s try him despite his past records. In fact it wasn’t him but elements at that time, within his group that took advantage of a well to do political course to cause mayhem and destruction to our people.”
On the surface, particularly judging by the repetitive praise of and call for Guand-dit to take over from/after President Kiir, one would be adequately persuaded to conclude that Isaiah Abraham, plus his writings, was nothing more than an apologist for Dr. Riek Machar and his quest for presidency. However, after finishing reading his articles such as “Martyr Day isn’t an ordinary Day South Sudanese leaders, July 24, 2012” one is left wondering if the above conclusion hold true anymore. Did Isaiah Abraham really prefer Dr. Machar to President Kiir? What exactly was he up to in that article? Who are the fence sitters? The reformers in wolf clothes? The betrayers of South Sudanese cause who spiritedly claimed to have delivered self-determination on a silver plate unto the SPLM/A?
“…The President is our hero like Garang, no doubt and people wish him well. But here he needs to give that Day a flavor, and not to assume that the Day is like any other special days of the Republic. This isn’t the case. He must spare the victims of the struggle from self-inflicting indignity when someone who supposed to look after them disingenuously shows no feeling about those demised Southerners…. If it wasn’t Dr. John Garang and his men, my people, who could have been around here stealing money, then stashed it to the outside banks. We would have been under Khartoum slaved or outside the country as refugees. Garang and his loyal comrades did it singlehandedly when apologists conspire day and night to betray the cause in the name of reform. Reform about what and in what ya jama? Many martyr died in the hands of the callous and traitors and this is their day. When the traitors were left alone to manage their rebellion couldn’t do what they thought wasn’t done under Garang. When Garang left them alone, like the case now, they couldn’t produce the ‘reform’ they have been passionate about during the bush, hypocrites! It pains when some Southerners couldn’t help the widows and orphans and only concentrate about welfare of their families. Others who stayed on the fence moreover have are conspiring secretly to wreck the boat in the name of change. It starts with change and later degenerated into deaths for our people. Most of them claim that they are champions of self-determination; and that they brought on a silver plate to the SPLM Leaders. That without them, the issue of martyr couldn’t be anything. This is insulting. Self-determination or self-rule is a political term awarded when it is earned and not when it is requested. The Garang and his men earned it. His vision is a lope that makes it easier, and if there were no such a political cry, belief me/not, we would have been still fighting for separation today like others in any other part of the world. This is a bitter truth! Separatists aren’t fashionable around the world; and no short cut whether you shouted the loudest or write some many essays and history about your cause. You can agree like Western Saharans and still not separate. It takes such a high thinking to make to arrive at it… To me it is no longer a doubt, and it will be just a matter of time for these men to go if they continue like that. If Kiir is weak, how Dr. Machar, his Assistant, why neglect these families all around? Dr. Machar was made to stay low, and has accepted that status, but the tide will spare him not; there is no way the two could be separated. If Kiir goes he goes. He hasn’t been himself like before and this is too bad. All are branded failed and are corrupt. I shockingly heard funny stories about the two as to land. Why a tall leader would take over a chunk of land around Juba and then employed his own people around it. This is unbecoming for tomorrow leaders to behave that way. They have moreover shown no leadership by example, stop short of correcting mistake one year in and one year out. The rivalry between Kiir and Machar perhaps has made the country to slip up for jackals to perch it. Dr. Machar has succumbed and if to save anything he must detach himself from how things are done by corrupt barons. I have started to think twice now about the person that could have been the hope for the people of this republic in months or few years to come…The point about Martyr Day is missed by Kiir, Machar and Wani. The trio is becoming problematic to our gains. What makes them thing that the blood of our people is nothing compares to their luxuries and assets? If they care they could have given the chunk land written in their names to our widows and orphans. The wife of William Nyuon is now begging for bread while the rich are basking in ill-gotten wealth as if William did nothing substantive to our struggle? Ms Nyuon has no land to put her hand on and her daughters/sons aren’t being settled in education or a house built in Ayod County in honor of their father. The same could have been applied to all notable contributors of our struggle. What does this tell you about Kiir/Machar/Wani? Martyr Day therefore should have been a day to show kindness to our widows and orphans through gifts and words of encouragement….
Interestingly, if not controversially, Isaiah Abraham had an amazing way of adoring two contradictory heroes: Dr. John Garang as the founding father of South Sudan and Dr. Riek Machar as the great-savior-in-the-waiting for South Sudan. He backed Garang’s model of the New Sudan Vision, believing that it gave birth to the independence of South Sudan. In both the article “Give Garang the respect he deserves, October 4, 2011” and the “Has the battle to save Garang legacy revived SPLA 1991 ideological differences? October 20, 2011” he took on the hotly contested topic of separatists and unionists in the context of the 1991 split within the SPLM/A. Obviously, under such topical issues and circumstances, he faced the most difficult task of reconciling his support for Dr. Riek with the praise and honoring of the late SPLM/A leader, Dr. John Garang. While his argument is well presented therein, it was, and still is, far from clear if he did succeed to reconcile the two conflicting views on Dr. Machar and Dr. John Garang in the context of 1991 attempted coup.
Isaiah Abraham also preferred direct and frank negotiation between Khartoum and South Sudan considering that it is in the best interest of South Sudan. This is well illustrated in the article, “Khartoum and Juba need to dialogue, March 28, 2012.” While acknowledging that “Khartoum isn’t serious about international rules, they are troublemakers”, he still called on the two nations to embrace honest dialogue and negotiations to end their destructive hostilities and abide by international norms and standards: “Khartoum should abide by the UNSC Resolution to end hostility with South Sudan, May 8, 2012.” This is further reinforced by his impassioned calling for better, mutually benefiting, relationship between the two countries: “South Sudan and the Sudan need strong bilateral ties, December 21, 2011.”
Reading titles such as “love him or hate him, sudan need al-bashir January 1, 2011” or the “Vote for Al Bashir not Arman, March 2, 2010” one is likely to mistakenly conclude that Isaiah Abraham was a Khartoum’s supporter. But to contemplate that, deep down in his heart, he was pro-Khartoum would tantamount to a grave underestimation of his patriotism. For instance, he vigorously opposed Khartoum application to join the EAC: “Turn down Khartoum’s request for East Africa membership, September 27, 2011.”
On Panthou, he felt bitterly betrayed when president Salva Kiir withdrew SPLA troops from the disputed town of Panthou. This is well illustrated in the article “Panthou: Kiir has betrayed the people of South Sudan, April 23, 2012” where he fumed:
“How come he could easily bowed to New York or Addis Ababa people who never lifted a finger to stop Khartoum from raining fire on our people day and night despite our cry? Mr. President, the interest of our people comes first. Ban Ki-moon (known then in Korea as Ban-jusa) is a letdown and an enemy of our people. Our land can’t be ruled from New York, we are own masters. Our voice was loud, but you kept personalizing the matter, who do you think you are? The issue of Panthou is larger than the president, rather is about South Sudan pride and dignity. If the people of Southern Sudan were ready, even to contribute their own lives and money, why stand own their way Mr. Kiir? You have been inconsistence throughout, and you got to give way. Sir you are one of the leaders that will be remembered for allowing his land to go (Chief Deng Majok was one) because someone who sits in New York or Washington rules over this land. You are a disgrace. If it was a defeat we would have taken it head high, and regroup and return there. What is wrong if we had stood the ground and be defeated, (an impossible thing anyway for our men against Khartoum)? Armies retreat but the war would be on. Our people are very agitated including this author for the decision to pull out troops from Panthou, the 100% South Sudan land. Juba has failed our people big way this time around. Mr. Kiir Mayardit low self-esteemed personality has made him one of the worse leaders our people have ever had.”
On international level, he was arguably a Pan-Africanist, unblinkingly proclaiming that “Africans solutions are the best for Africans problems, February 22, 2010.” Isaiah Abraham was against the ousting of Muammar Khadafi of Libya by the Western Powers, calling the Libyan rebels to be ashamed of themselves (Gaddafi’s death: shame on so-called Libyan Liberators, October 26, 2011). Amidst his seething against the West and the UN, Isaiah Abraham was able to catch enough breath to utter: “Thanks USA, keep the pressure on Khartoum, October 24, 2010.” Still,he was, at the same time, warning the government of South Sudan to be extra wary of Western Military Cooperation. His opposition to Western Intervention in African Affairs, however, was more ideological and philosophical than personal—he adored Hilde Johnson, a Westerner, so much that he named his own daughter after her. Above all, he was a priest in the Episcopal Church of the Sudan, a religion with Western origin and connection.
Isaiah Abraham displayed his uncompromising loyalty to the SPLM/A in the article “Southern political expediency is no brainer, June 23, 2009” when he said the following to those who accused him of being an agent of the group whose pockets are stuffed by the NCP:
“No way, am no 467 of the Tumsah Battalion and will be the last to leave the party when my breath is gone! What will I tell those who die ahead of me when I join them if I shuttle between my stomach and my heads? Shame on me if…”
He showed his admiration for and the belief in the SPLA in the article “Rebellion or no rebellion, the South is moving on! April 5, 2011” when he offered this opinion about the SPLA—South Sudan Army:
“Our army isn’t the best yes, and has public relation problems and lacks training, but they are the best fighters when it comes to defense…”
In support of the oil shutdown by the government of South Sudan, Isaiah Abraham had the following words from the article “South Sudan must not waver in its decision to keep oil production shut, February 28, 2012”:
“After the shutdown of oil production therefore, our people must not look back or compromise so to start returning our market through the Republic of the Sudan. There is no way again for our leadership in Juba to rush back to beg Khartoum for continuation of facilities usage. We will find our way here, and around our friendly countries not anymore through the rogue Republic called the Sudan…I’m back again to salute our leader Comrade Salva Kiir Mayardit and his able team led by a warrior Comrade Pagan Amum Okiech for a job well done. Brother Amum has shown again and again that he is there for the people of South Sudan, something a gang of malicious men and busy bodies among us are hell bound to die about. They must shut up, and leave such rare shots to do the job for them.”
Isaiah Abraham had unequivocal view on the Abyei perennial dispute, declaring that Abyei must be liberated at the barrel of a gun. In the article, “I fear for the future of Abyei and other disputed areasOctober 13, 2012” he complained about the occupation of South Sudanese border areas of Abyei, Panthou, Hofra Al Nahas, Kofi Kingi, Kaka and 14 Mile, concluding that the talks between the two countries over these issues have failed miserably because the talks usually shy away from addressing the fundamental problem of land ownership. He blamed our leaders for their poor sightedness and urged them to chart a new better-informed way forward based on the bitter lessons of these wanton failures.
Isaiah Abraham was never shy of combative debate when it came to issues dear to his heart, particularly those he considered indispensable to the betterment of the republic of South Sudan. In one of his longest article, “South Sudanese leader will not be re-elected, September 11, 2012” which he wrote in defense of Mabioor Garang de Mabioor, he viciously attacked his colleague and fellow Citizen-Newspaper-Columnist, Mr. Ateny Wek, arguing that he (Ateny) had taken sides by wrongly attacking the son of the late for simply exercising his freedom of expression as a free citizen in a free nation.
But his views on certain issues were not immutable; one would fairly argue that his opinions were generally circumstance-driven and time-dictated. For example, when the SPLM leader banned the SPLM-DC on its inception, Isaiah Abraham took the opposite view and argued that SPLM-DC shouldn’t be banned. Later on, May 29, 2012, he strongly urged the government of South Sudan to immediately ban SPLM-DC, accusing the official opposition party of political sabotage and collaboration with the enemy—Khartoum government.
Before his untimely, unfortunate and conspiratorial death, Isaiah Abraham had been threatened many times in the past, one of which is vividly recounted in the article, “Writing isn’t about fame or money September 7, 2009.” As narrated by Dr. Majak D’Agot, and Nhial Bol during the Memorial Services of Isaiah Abraham, Juba, December 13th, 2012, the threats against Isaiah Abraham were real, relentless and nerve-wracking to the extent that Isaiah Abraham—fearless and committed to his noble cause as he was—was contemplating seeking asylum in a foreign country. Unfortunately, as we all know, he met his death few days before his friends could come to his rescue.
Ironically, Isaiah Abraham managed to survive the over 22 years of South Sudan liberation struggle against the consecutive repressive regimes in Khartoum only to die at the hands of his fellow South Sudanese countrymen and -women. Surely, it is “Not Yet Uhuru” in the Republic of South Sudan!!
PaanLuel Wël (paanluel2011@gmail.com) is the Managing Editor of PaanLuel Wël: South Sudanese Bloggers: He can be reached through his Facebook page, Twitter Account or on the blog:https://paanluelwel2011.wordpress.com/
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