Manytuil is the master at shooting himself in the foot: A case of Bapiny Matuil and Jieng Council of Elders

By Bijiek Gatwech Jieknyal,

Oct 18, 2016(Nyamilepedia) —– General Bapiny Manytuiel resigned from being Deputy Chief of general staff for moral orientation from South Sudan army on October 10, 2016, because things were not going well with him in the army. Before he joined the South Sudan government, General Bapiny was deputy commander in chief of the South Sudan Libration Army (SSLA) founded by Maj. General Gai Yoach who initially opposed South Sudan referendum under Salva Kiir’s leadership in 2005 after John Garang died in a helicopter crash.

General Bapiny plotted a successful coup against Gai Yoach’s movement in 2012. General Bapiny collaborated with some Sudanese army officials, arrested his own boss and the leader of SSLA Maj. General Gai and sent him to jail, killed over 87 Leek soldiers including Maj. General Kolchara Tap Nyal simply because they were from Gai Yoach’s subtribe (Leek people of Rubkona). Subsequently, Gen. Bapiny took over the leadership of SSLA and signed peace with South Sudan government and made his militias become strong allies of Jieng Council of Elders forces that murdered Nuer civilians in thousands.

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General Bapiny had served in South Sudan army from 2012 to 2016. He announced his resignation from the army on October 10, 2016. General Bapiny seriously accused his brother Nguen Manytuiel, governor of Unity State and some other government officials of wanting him to be arrested and sent to jail for unknown reasons. President Kiir assigned allied militia commander, Lieutenant General, Bapiny Manytuil, as SPLA deputy chief of general staff for moral orientation in September 2015 purposely to use him against Nuer brothers.

Although he held that higher position in the army, General Bapiny did not have actual authority in the South Sudan National army, he was just a figurehead. In March 2016, South Sudan Chief General Staff, Paul Malong, ordered to disarm the bodyguards of General Bapiny Manytuil. After disarming his bodyguards General Bapiny felt unsecured and exited the country pretending to be on medical leave. General Bapiny has been out of the country since March 2016.

By killing Leek soldiers indiscriminately, Bapiny thought the Jieng Council of Elders would trust him and would give him good credit but he only shot himself in the foot. The killing of Leek soldiers who were with him did not earn him any credit in the government but instead, experienced more humiliations. What Bapiny had done to poor innocent Leek soldiers who were with him was about to happen to him in Juba in the similar way it had happened. This is what I termed Manytuil is the master at shooting himself in the foot.

Jieng Council of Elders Reaction to Manytuil Resignation and Criticism

South Sudan information Minister, Michael Makuei Lueth, member of Jieng Council of Elders, reacted angrily after Bapiny revealed that Governor Nguen, Tut Kew and Paul Malong had planned to kill former SPLA-IO chief negotiator Taban Deng Gai upon his return to Juba for peace and subsequently they would arrest him (Bapiny). In response to this accusations, Makuei Lueth, said this on SST, Manytuil sons are for money, during South Sudanese struggle for independent they sided with Arabs because Arabs paid them money. When South Sudan separated from Sudan, the Arabs stop paying them and then they come and joined the SPLA just for money. Now the government is running out of money, so the Manytuil’s are defecting from the government again. “These people are like dogs, they are for money they come and go; they do not have principles in their heart. Anyone can use them for money, so why do we need to respect them?” Makuei asked on South Sudan T.V.

Questions

1. Can anyone refute what Michael Makuei Lueth said about Manytuil’s?
2. Can Makuei words apply to any living Nuer?
3. Makuei said, “these people come and go” in what way can Nuer stop themselves from “coming and going” accusations and fix things once and for all?

Analysis

Information minister, Makuei Lueth speech did not only belittle Manytuil’s but devalues and offends Nuer of all walk no matter where they were on the planet. His speeches serve to exacerbate the division and hatred among South Sudanese, particularly, between Nuer and Dinka. Not only that his comments often serves as the dynamics of multiple demographic attributes that divided and subdivided South Sudanese communities farther. With Makuei Lueth being the Information Minister, it will always be more difficult for South Sudanese to achieve shared direction, alignment, and commitment.

Riek Machar

To fix South Sudan problems, stop coming and the uncessarnary defection of hopeless Nuer back and forth as Makuei said, and restored Nuer credibility, Riek Machar must declare a full-scale war, empower his commanders to fight to the best of their ability and stop listening too much to the international community that seems to be double standards and bias. The Jieng Council of Elders government in Juba is full of warlords who do not care about the wellbeing of the country. Hence, Dr. Machar, Dr. Akol, and Dr. Adwok Nyaba must stop begging Jieng Council of Elders for peace, instead they must promote warlords commanders from the movement supported by Gojam, white army, Aguelek, Cobra Murle faction, equatoria and as well as Bar El Gazal regions that can face JCE warlords.

Warlords always need to be confronted by other warlords but not by well educated, professional, visionaries politicians like Akol, Adwok, and Riek. If the genocides have taken place on both sides, the JCE would come to their senses and then the permanent peace would come within three months without IGAD and Troika. The JCE does not want peace because the genocide has been on one side since 2013. Signing another peace with Kiir so Riek can become Vice President again should not be an option anymore. If he cannot afford to face Kiir militarily, then Riek must quit politics; leave South Sudan once and for all.

South Sudan is at war

South Sudan has been at war since 2013 because the Jieng Council of Elders has hijacked the citizens right and transformed the country from an institution that is supposed to be delivering social services and maintain the rule of law into a rapacious criminal enterprise that does entirely the contradictory things. The JCE predators use state power to loot public funds and natural resource and nation’s wealth with impunity and utilize the country military force to suppress those who attempt to oppose or question their wrong doing.

The United States, United Nations, Europeans Union and other international contributors have been pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into peace talks and endless peacekeeping missions in South Sudan. Even though these contributions can be seen as constructive parts of an actual peace development plans, they repeatedly fail and they will always fail to achieve the desired result because they do not address the root cause of conflict in 2013.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the solution to South Sudan civil war is twofold: first, to bring the country back from the hand of predators and place it in the hand of citizens, Dr. Machar must declare full-scale war that will hit and touch all corners of the country. I believe this declaration of full-scale war would stop officials who hijack state institutions, loot public funds and natural resources, and use severe violence to maintain their grip on power. If the Jieng Council of Elders feels the pain in their backyards, they will accept peace and they will write welcoming constitutions that would prevent future violence.

Second, the IGAD, IGAD Plus, Troika, and Europe must stop being double standard and bias in the peace talk. These mediators must address the root cause of the conflict and bring those responsible for murdering civilian in Juba in 2013 to book. Any conflict resolution that does not address the drivers of war and the root cause of unrest will not solve the problem in South Sudan.

The author of this article can be reached for more information at jbijiek1@vt.edu

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