By JUSTIN KWAJE, South Sudan
Salva Kiir Mayardiit, wiping his face with a pink handkerchief.
January 9, 2014[Juba] — What is happening in the newest nation, the Republic of South Sudan must be traced back on the focal singular holder of all and absolute powers in this new country, which is now in a state of utter confusions. The volcanic eruption, which started on 15th December 2013, can be traced back in the early days of the liberation movement in 1991 and the reconciliation, which followed, between Dr John Garang and Dr Riek Machar.
The president of the Republic and Current chair of the SPLM, by invoking the event of 1991 and labelling Machar as power hungry and worst, the prophet of doom, have insulted that reconciliation. It was opening up an old and healed wound.
In our African cultures once the elders of the community settles grievances, it is a taboo to go back to it and revisiting such brings bad omen and a curse in the family.
Kiir’s opportunistic and divisive reference to 1991 was diversionary after he failed to solve political differences within his ruling party, just as he was not able to rule this country without decrees; he was not able to chair his own party peacefully and resorted to the use of force!
Kiir therefore is a total failure in regards to the country, his party as well as commanding his military and tribal militia.
All south Sudanese of good will must condemn Kiir and he must take full responsibility for undermining that crucial reconciliation in our nation’s history that brought John Garang and Riek Machar together which paved the way for our independence without which we could have not achieved a country of our own.
It was Kirr who undid what was achieved by opening the Pandora’s box and brought the curse that comes with revisiting the forbidden, which now is destroying and consuming up our nation.
The question all need to ask is, was Kiir not in favor of that reconciliation for him to open up that which was buried? Was he not the one who selected Riek as his deputy? Or was it purely power hunger and ambition rather than efforts for brotherhood?
It is now clear that it was purely a calculated bid to power with a hidden agenda right from day one when he assumed the position of late Dr John Garang after the tragic helicopter crash in 2005.
So Kiir faked brotherhood and fooled the nation with this, we can rightly conclude, Kiir has integrity issues!
To the millions of South Sudanese, Garang’s death was seen as devastation, great lost for the liberation movement, but now retrospectively, to Kiir, this was the beginning to build his dynasty.
Today as Kiir labels Dr Machar’s group as power hungry, this very description instead suits best Kiir’s very own ascend to power, as we all recall, Kiir himself tried with his Gogrial boys to assassinate late Dr John Garang in Rumbek.
Those who doubt this, has he not now sidelined the so-called Garang’s boys even humiliate Dr Garang’s own Widow? Could it be because Garang’s legacy eclipsed Kirr’s own and does not allow Kiir to shine through? So who is power hungry here?
Having asked such, it must be said that craving power in itself must not be made to look evil, it is how one seeks it, as long as one seeks it democratically as those opposed to Kiir were doing until he lied on them and threw them in Jail and into rebellion.
There is nothing wrong to desire power. What is wrong is what one does with power. In Kiir’s case although we the people have given it to him, he has totally abused it.
Who are the victim of this recent Kiir’s abuse of power as seen in this violence instigated by him? The main victims are Nuer in Juba, but who were main victim of the retaliation revenge attacked launched by Nuer?
Majority of the people who died in Jonglei state are Dinka Bor, whom Kirr wants to annihilate due to his hatred towards Garang. The result of this killing and instigations has been felt as far away from Bor as in Nimule hundred kilometers away.
Nimule which has already reached a boiling point due to insecurity caused by illegal Dinka Bor IDP, and new influx are pouring in Nimule, this will soon open up another ethnic issue as the Dinka are coming along with their cows and are armed to teeth with AK 47s and heavy Machine guns.
Why do they come for safety all the way to Nimule? Are these not the same brave Dinka who have been piling insult on the Ma’di people as cowards, and they the brave are now fleeing to safety to the land of the cowards?
Why not stay in Bor and defend you lands? Is it not evident that the peaceful ways of the Ma’di people and Equatoria in general, makes our country safe and is the best way for South Sudan?
Or we should all deal with each other through insults and guns?
The successive fall of Jonglei, Unity State and Upper Nile indicates that Mr. Kiir tribal gangs have lost allies with immediate neighboring fellow countrymen, and now public trust in Kiir’s leadership has sunken.
Any president who is afraid of his people’s democratic rights and exercises is not a leader of the people. Since Mr. Kiir is afraid of the people who called for democratic reforms within SPLM, he has lost public trust.
History will remember him as a president who lies and who practises divisive policies by opening old wounds to pit one section of his nation against another.
Mr. Kiir, that is and that will be your legacy.
Many Children are and will be fatherless because of your lies and because of what you are doing!
The glorious praise the people of South Sudan have given you for leading us through independence will now not be inscribed on your grave stone.
What I would like to see is, you Kiir, go to The Hague to be tried for committing genocide against your own people.
The president and his vice president James Wani Igga and their cronies went into a campaign of disinformation and lies, instead of accepting democratic reforms they opted for a war on his political opponents.
This act of Mr. Kiir and the old school generals clearly shows that they knew they had no chance against Dr Machar in an organized free and fair elections, therefore the only workable tool left at their disposal was to accuse Dr Machar and his colleagues who are champion of our independence as “coup plotters” in order to rid himself of them and assassinate them.
Kiir has no honesty to give the people of South Sudan an accurate account about what triggered the violence on the streets of Juba on December 15th 2013. Kiir should give the precise number of the civilians massacred in Juba by his militias who are not part of any armed group or of our national army.
Kiir should give an account as to why such private militias are created and exclusively from his own ethnic tribe the Dinka, more especially Dinka Bahr el Gazel and warrap states?
The recent violence in our country without any doubt has divided our national army along their ethnicity, not surprising as he started this by the exclusive tribal militia he recruited along tribal lines.
Thus it is Kirr, the very person who divided us along tribal lines not the opposition who are from many tribes including his tribe, the Dinka. So who stands for Unity? Is it Kirr or the opposition?
The distrust among our national army will only deepened, and we can only conclude at this particular time Kiir has a handful of true friends left, and the majority of those who are still standing with Kiir are simply either fearful for their lives or protecting livelihood, as Kiir is known by his decrees to kick out anyone who is opposed to him.
Notice for more 20 times in 2013, Kiir has issued decrees, thus almost twice a month, he by chance President, has added other tittles, the president of decrees, the distinguished liar and divider-in-chief.
Instead of surrounding Himself with intellectuals who can help him rule democratically, Kirr surrounded himself with People like the VP Wani Igga who has no clue of what he is doing and is simply a puppet/comedian.
The president uses this good-for-nothing, non-Dinka to fool the country. He is using the non-Dinka as decoy but all the consequential powers are given to the Dinka.
Clear example can be seen when Kiir recruited his militias called Presidential guards, they were recruited without consent of Gen. Chief of staff, Mr Jame Hoth Mai, who is non-Dinka, and another example was during the recent violence in Juba again, Mr Kiir deployed the militias to actions without any approval from Gen. Chief of staff James Hoth Mai, which also showed criminal intents.
Yet in a modern state military undertakings passes through the chief of staff, but Kiir has been seen bypassing the chains of commands, by authorizing Dinka junior officers over non Dinka senior officers.
Kiir is, therefore the divider rather than one who unites our many tribes, making him a good Dinka Chief for a cattle camp in Warrap State, but not for South Sudan.
This must not be tolerated for a father who favors one child over the rest is risking that child’s life; in the Bible we read the consequence of Jacob favoring Joseph. This current tactic employed by Kiir will further isolate the Dinka and will create unbalanced powers and yield oppressions.
Kiir tribalism even extends to how he handles corruption scandals; in 2010 Josephine Lagu was accused of stealing sum of 200.000 U$, though there was no evidence provided, her name was defamed publicly, She was tarnished and lost her job.
While the 75 Ministers mainly from Dinka, accused of embezzling billions of U$ are still walking free and their names never publicly revealed. That is the degree of how a Dinka Cattle chief Kiir has always been.
This is clear evidence that Kiir only takes hard lines towards Non-Dinka while none towards his tribal gangs. Unless this issue of favoring Dinkas by the President is halted, it will be impossible and we shall never achieve viable democratic South Sudan where all 64 ethnic groups can coexist without violence given the predatory behaviors of the Dinka towards other tribes and their lands.
In conclusion, the so-called failed coup attempt was a malicious plan, by Kiir to silence his opponents from standing against him in the coming election.
Now that he pushed Dr Machar into the bush, Kiir is using what he called “failed coup attempt” to discredit Dr Machar so that the people of South Sudan will see Riek as someone who is striving for power.
But Kiir underestimates the intelligence of the South Sudanese people who have seen through his gimmicks.
Mr. president, in democratic world when you have lost popularity, the only thing for you to do to preserve your legacy is hand over the power to someone within your party or call for fresh elections to see whether people still have trust in you.
If you say the so-called Coup plotters are in the wrong, why not call for an early fair elections and see it for yourself?
Unfortunately you chose to resolve small issue by using our national army.
Sir this is not what we aspired for, the dream of the people of south Sudan is to live in democracy. When late John Garang said he has brought us peace on a golden plate, he meant he brought us freedom of expression, equality, justice, and liberty, not repression, torture, the killings of opinion writers like Isaiah Abraham, unjust imprisonment of your comrades and now the deaths of our valiant SPLA soldiers left and right in the hands of their very own brothers!
I am profoundly sick with your behavior, Do you have any idea how many of your very own countrymen have died and will continued to die until you alone do the right thing and call it quit?
SHAME ON YOU KIIR FOR THE LOST OF LIVES OF YOUR VERY OWN PEOPLES IN YOUR VERY OWN HANDS, THE VERY HANDS THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT THEM!
AS A NON-DINKA, THEREFORE YOU ARE NOT MY PRESIDENT.
Therefore since you cannot wear the shoes of our late leader, you must step down and go AWAY.
Justin Kwaje
Juba, South Sudan
Profoundly sick and tired of Kiir running down my country