A Letter of condemnation and complaint to the President of the Republic of South Sudan, H.E Salva Kiir Mayardit, about the illegal compensation imposed on our community by the former governor of Upper Nile State and his aides.
Dec 21, 2021 — The Mabaan community in the diaspora would like to express our deepest opposition and rejection of the illegal procedure taken and imposed on our community to pay compensation to the former governor of Upper Nile state honourable Simon Kun Puoch. We believe that this compensation payment was illegally imposed on our community and traditional leaders to compensate for the life of an active soldier who died in the line of service. Like many other victims of this crazy war which had galvanised our community and country, we believe that it is the responsibility of the South Sudan government to compensate all families who have lost their loved ones due to the crisis in our country including the family of the deceased soldiers killed or died in the line of duty. We have also lost our loved ones in the same incident and non-have been compensated as the process of compensation and reparation is still underway.
As the diaspora community, we are outraged, feel being singled out, unfairly treated, and forced to pay compensation to the former governor of Upper Nile State Mr. Puoch. Certainly, we believe that this is a criminal matter, and the process of compensation was illegally executed by individuals that have an ill intention to create ethnic conflict between our respective communities who have been living peacefully even during the difficult times. We the Mabaan community in diaspora strongly oppose and warn all those involved in this illegal, scam process to shun the elusive ideology of tribal antagonism.
We are aware that the South Sudan People’s Defence force (SSPDF) officer who died in Mabaan County during the war was a close relative of former governor Mr. Puoch, and he has personally demanded the Mabaan community pay 250 cows or 13,000,000 SSP as price compensation for his family. His demand for compensation contradicts the military personnel compensation acts of South Sudan for a whole tribe punished to pay compensation for the life of a soldier who died as an active soldier at the frontline. It doesn’t make sense for military personnel who lost their lives in active duty to be compensated by the community. As the result of former governor threats to use force against Mabaan people if compensation is not paid, Mabaan community leaders agreed and had paid $7,000,000 SSP with due process. This has angered the entire Mabaan community including those in diaspora and collectively have denounced this illegal compensation procedure committed by the former governor and those who aided him.
The entire Mabaan community rejects and condemns this illegal compensation payment imposed on our community by the former governor of Upper Nile State and would like to make everybody including our government authority aware of this illegal compensation imposed on our community. As a community, we strongly reject and denounce illegal processes and demands by the former governor of Upper Nile State, Captain William Deng, brigadier general Majour, Joseph Garang, and Moses Gong. The former governor and his aid had threatened our people purely motivated by the tribal mentality that negatively impacts the peaceful coexistence of our people in Upper Nile State. When we learned about this illegal compensation engineered by the former governor, the Mabaan community at home and in diaspora felt that this is another tribal scenario that will trigger a dangerous situation in the upper Nile state. Calm has returned to our County after senseless fighting that happened earlier this year and we don’t want our people to go back to any unrest again. We, therefore, demand the presidency to consider investigating such an act that may trigger another crisis in our country. Those who were involved in this scheme should be held accountable for their tribal behavior toward the Mabaan people. If there’s justice and accountability, let’s start in the capital of South Sudan where many innocent citizens lost their lives but to single out Mabaan is unacceptable, and we demand the former governor Simon Kun to be held accountable.
The former governor Puoch knows and is aware that in the wake of the 2013 political crisis, many innocent lives were lost in Juba and across towns of South Sudan that led to wider condemnation by everybody including our patriotic South Sudanese and the international community that our brothers/sisters Nuer were targeted by the system based on ethnic line profiling. We believed that this was one of the reasons why justice and accountability are stipulated in the revitalized peace agreement to address issues such as compensation and reparation. The former governor of Upper Nile State demands compensation for one office who happened to be his relative, not only illegal, unacceptable and unlawfully imposed on our community but will also trigger the past memories that may lead to unnecessary crises again.
As a community, we were alarmed and terrified to learn about the former governor’s negative attitude toward the Mabaan community, by threatening to use the South Sudan people’s defense force to harm our innocent people if compensation is not paid. We don’t know if the former governor understands the R-ARCSS provisions of “compensation and reparation” and why he cannot wait for chapter five to be implemented if he demands compensation? In our view the payment imposed on our people was illegal and a violation of the revitalized peace agreement. According to chapter five peace agreement, it stated clearly about compensation and reparation of the victims whereby access to justice shall be required of all South Sudanese of human rights violation, breaches rule of law and abuse of power by tribal elites within the state. Justice for the deceased SSPDF soldier could have been addressed through transitional justice if the agreement is implemented than threatening the entire innocent Mabaan people.
The involvement of SSPDF generals in the demands of compensation was illegal. The Mabaan community back home and in diaspora are disappointed with the involvement of SSPDF brigadier Majour, an army commander in Mabaan, chief of police Joseph Garang, and Captain William Deng in demands of compensation which they illegally committed against the South Sudan military code of conduct. Brigadier Majour threatened Mabaan traditional leaders to kill three people if the compensation was not paid as instructed by the former governor of Upper Nile State Simon Kun Puoch.
Brigadier Majout should understand that the primary responsibility of South Sudan People Defense Force (SSPDF) is not to threaten citizens who have done nothing wrong but to protect them, their properties and defend national interest integrity. Therefore, their involvement in such scheme compensation demands is disgraceful to South Sudan that they are serving. We call for the transitional national unity government to hold those of SSPDF brigadier general Majour, Captain William Deng and Simon Kun Puoch accountable for their illicit tribal business that jeopardizes the interest of peaceful coexistence of our people. As a community, we know that the revitalized peace agreement did not specify that particular ethnic groups be held accountable for the killing that happened due to the civil war in our country. However, it has afforded avenues for compensation to be paid once the R-ARCSS is fully implemented. The illegal compensation done to our people is against the spirit of Peace agreement and Chapter five cluster. This is unacceptable and needs to be corrected so that such practice shouldn’t repeat itself again anywhere in South Sudan in such a manner.
Threats and arrest of the paramount chief of Mabaan Mansur Mustafa lack legality procedures. We learned with great disappointment that SSPDF brigadier general Majour and Major general William Deng in cooperation with commissioner Peter Alberto ordered the arrest of the paramount chief and traditional leaders when they refused to pay compensation and questioned the legality of the procedures. We, the Mabaan community, were disappointed when we received the information that traditional leaders were arrested and punished for refusal to pay illegal compensation that shouldn’t have been paid in the first place if there was no thorough independent investigation. What they have done to our people was unacceptable and lacks legal validation and credibility.
We believe that the demand for this compensation is a coordinated corruption scam by Simon Kun Puoch, brigadier general Majour, Major general William Deng and commissioner Peter Alberto to loot Mabaan resources. Former governor Simon Kun was aware and knows that the Mabaan community has recently received funds from oil revenues which we believed has drawn their interest to get some potion by creating this illegal and unnecessary demands for Mabaan community to pay compensation for his relative that who died as an active SSPDF soldier in Mabaan County. We believed and knew that the right institution to be asked to pay compensation for military personnel who died in active service is the government of South Sudan and not the individual community like ours. However, we alleged that what Mr. Kun and his culprits did to our people is coordinated corruption that needs to be investigated. We believed that Mr. Kun and his aid abused the SSPDF to threaten our people, jailed traditional leaders, and forced them to pay unlawful compensation. This is worthy of public awareness and knowledge of the South Sudan government. We are aware that the paid compensation was shared between Kun Puoch, brigadier Majour, Major William Deng, and commissioner Alberto. That’s why we certainly believe it is a coordinated corruption that needs to be investigated and held whoever is found guilty accountable for their wrongdoings in Mabaan County.
This case of compensation was poorly handled by attorney Moses Gong. We, therefore, blame the Mabaan county attorney general Moses Gong for being complicit in corruption and unlawfully indicting the entire Mabaan community to pay compensation that would have been directed and dealt with according to chapter five in the revitalized peace agreement. Nevertheless, with his full legal knowledge, expertise, and understanding, he was complicit in corruption and tribal manipulation, he failed to discharge his legal duty, execute and defend the law. Therefore, we call for his removal as an attorney general in Mabaan County.
In other matters relevant to this case, we believed that there’s injustice practices in the public service sectors in Mabaan county. This compensation case would have been handled differently if our county is run by people who have clear local knowledge and understanding of the situation. In Our opinion, one of the reasons why such cases were mishandled is because we have the key positions in the public services sectors in Mabaan county are mostly controlled by the people of Jongelie state in which compensation demands were poorly managed because they captured and dominated the local government institutions and seems to act on personal interest than community interest. Here are some facts about Mabaan county’s administration; County attorney general Moses Gong is from Jongelie state, County chief police Joseph Garang is from Bor Jongelie state, SSPDF County unit commander brigadier Majour is from Jonglei State. This makes us wonder why only one state controls very important key positions in Mabaan County. If it’s about the general deployment of all South Sudanese who are servicing in national institutions, why should Mabaan County be afforded as any county in South Sudan with varieties of public servants other than one state dominating one county’s administration. We, therefore, demand the government of Upper Nile State to correct the mismanagement of the local government institutions in Mabaan County. Our county has become a victim of such disproportional deployment of public servants and officers from other states and the solicitation of illegal compensation indictment by attorney Moses Gong which served the interest of his corrupted friends is a case in point.
To be clear, we are not against any South Sudanese who are deployed to serve our community faithfully and in a professional manner. However, the action of public servants involved in this illegal saga shows that they used the law to victimize the Mabaan people, therefore we denounced his action and called for his removal. The worst scenario was that the attorney cooperated with the commissioner and threatened traditional leaders which forced them to pay compensation that we concluded was coordinated.
The former governor Kun Puoch, Major general William Deng and brig Majour had distorted, mistreated, and committed injustice against our people. It’s deplorable when we learned that the former governor of Upper Nile State was the one spearheading the threat and arrest of our traditional leaders. It is unjust and unfair to single-out Mabaan people to pay compensation that was illegally executed by individuals within criminal intent and not seek justice for the dead officer. As a community, we felt disgusted by the tribal mentality of some of our leaders who target minority tribes such as ours for personal gain. Our innocents’ people should never harass or be intimidated by nonsensical threats of the former governor and his culprits; justice prevails when those individuals will be held accountable for the unlawful indictment of the Mabaan community. We, therefore, call upon the relevant authorities in our governments to take action against those individuals and Simon Kun Puoch, in particular, to be removed from his position as chairperson of the peace committee of Upper Nile State. His involvement in such a scheme will contribute to further tribal sentiment and violence will jeopardize the ongoing efforts by national and state governments to restore peace, security, and stability in our state and counties.
As a matter of fact, Mabaan as a tribe has been and continues to be a marginalized community in the State of South Sudan. We are one of the most completely isolated and marginalized communities by the government of South Sudan. We lack meaningful participation and representation in national and state government institutions. Furthermore, our right to participate as citizens of South Sudan has been subjected to suppression. Even as one of the oil producing counties in the Upper Nile state, our right to oil revenue has been denied by the successive state governments due to tribal policy of misrepresentation and marginalization. Due to this policy of marginalization which can be discriminatory in nature, we have no signal person in high positions of authority in state and national government to represent and present any factual evidence in any nature of the situation. Our people are being left out of service delivery, defenseless, and not protected by their governments and institutions which should serve them equally like any other community in the Republic of South Sudan but that doesn’t mean anybody can use state power to abuse innocent people like the way illegal compensation has been handled. It is for the interest of all our citizens that we call upon His Excellency President Salva Kiir Mayardit and his government to end Mabaan marginalization.
We call for the establishment of fair independent investigation and accountability. We, the Mabaan community in diaspora and back home believe that the indictment for our community to pay compensation was not properly executed by the relevant authorities, at the county, state, and national level and therefore, call for the transitional national unity government to urgently establish an independent investigation committee to review the case of compensation that was illegally imposed on our community and hold those investigates and committed such illegal indictment accountable. Our community is not against the compensation payment for the late officer, but we question the suitability, integrity of the legal procedures that have been executed.
We, hereby call for H.E President Salva Kiir Mayardit and H.E the First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny to consider the suffering of our people under majority tribes’ system domination and strongly recommends them to have decisive action on the following concerns:
- Immediate transfer of brigadier general Majour, Major general William Deng, chief police Joseph Garang, and attorney general Moses Gong from Mabaan county. The Mabaan community will never trust their services since they are involved in coordinated corruption scams to meet their personal interest. We demand them to be transferred from Mabaan County because of their failure to discharge their duties and responsibilities in effective, competent, and professional manners.
- Urgently established an independent investigation committee that determined facts about the illegal compensation process and held the former governor, Simon Kun Puoch accountable for threatening Mabaan people.
We are peaceful and law-abiding citizens and should not be subjected to distortion, intimidation, malicious threat, and unfair treatment by those who swear oaths to serve our communities in a faithful and professional manner. Our commitment to peaceful coexistence with neighbors has taken as a weakness to suppress our rights as citizens to live, exercise our rights to participation and development of our country. The compensation was illegally executed by the parties involved in a coordinated corruption and criminal way; therefore, we call upon and ask the president of the Republic of South Sudan H.E: General Salva Kiir Mayardit and the first vice president H.E: DR. Riek Machar to correct this illegal compensation payment which was imposed on our Community and ask parties involved in such corruption scam practices to return that money back to the community.
Sincerely,
Cc: H.E Dr. Riek Machar Teny, The First Vice President Of the Republic of South Sudan.
Cc: Right Hon. Nunu Jemma Kumba, Speaker of transitional national legislative Assembly (South Sudan)
Cc: Right Hon. Nathaniel Oyet, 1st Deputy Speaker of transitional Legislative Assembly (South Sudan)
Cc: Hon. Budhok Ayang Kur, Governor of the Upper Nile State.
Cc: Hon. Peter Alberto, Commissioner of Mabaan County.
Representative of Mabaan Community in diaspora:
- Simon Musa Tongo…………………USA
- Jabriel Kauno………………………..Canada
- Simon Winya……………………… Australia
- Philemon Daud……………………..Canada
Email: philemondaud84@gmail.com and winyasimon@yahoo.com
……………..End……………….
1 comment
“Letter from the Mabaan Community in Diaspora to President Salva Kiir”
People of Maban, don’t worry, you never let down South Sudan and the Sudan. Let tell you this liitle annecdote, in 1997, when the SPLM/A was pushed against the wall. The Nuba Mta and Maaban stayed put with the SPLM/A. In battle of Yei in 1997. It was only the Dinkas/Maban/Nuba Mountain boys and some others. in my battalion, there was not a single Equatorians, Nuers or Murles, it was the Dinkas anda few boys from Maban and Nuba mountains. The Mudundurus (Arabs), our SPLA captured in Yei in 1997, Dr. John Garang, then leader of the SPLM/A released in 2005 to ‘sumahale (North)’. Some of them back to North and some of stayed back in South Sudan (Junub). We don’t like Arabs, if you western countries, then take your time and let Muonyjaangs/Jaangs/Jenges/Jongkoths/Dinkas settled our with our enemies and our Nuers ke nyantoc allies firsts. If it is going to hard for us, then we call call you. But for all I care.
No Nuers bullshits again in our Upper Nile, here in Jonglei IT IS A REDLINE LINE for our Nuers ke nyantoc piece of trash to ever again CROSS. Reasons pure HATRED and RACISM
The writer of the letter. Walk your head high. Nuers are not considered anythiing by the Jangs/Dinkas anything. Just go and fouhnd out how these creature are living in our Kiirtoum (Khartoum). That is the nature our Nuers ke nyantoc. Nyamilipepdia, the Nuers will say they know anything about websites. Radio Tamazuj, Sudan tribune, Sudans post—–yeah. Maban boys/girls worry less. You know Langecuk county, it is a Maban country, the Nuers with child-like behaviour stole from Maban, it has never been by anyone, South Sudanese know who is who and who owns what in the Sudan and our Egypt. Akobo, Jokou, Pachalla, Gambella region, Dimmo; except Itang, Tharpalm and Bilpalm were stolen also stolen by our Nuers ke nyantoc just recently in 1980th when South were bombing Arab out of their villages and towns.
“kun” in Jaangs/Muonyjaangs/Jenges/Jonkoths/Dinkas—-mean ‘last born’ Puoc, means ‘wake up or eduacated’
The Nuers are piece of trashes. ‘Kun puoc—-literal transilation, means. ‘last child wake up or last child get educated’ Muonyjiengs/jaangs/Jenges/Jongkoths/Dinkas and our nuers ke ke nyanto and the same. Our Nuers ke Nyantoc have nothinng in Upper Nile. Jonglei. But child-like behavior and Mr. Salva Kiir and his minions always want these low lives to be ‘treated with kid gloves had enmbolden them. They were their own states, to them around with child-like behaviour in 20015-2017, they want their states, they want with masters and backers to be in Upper Nile and Jonglei states.
They want South Sudan to be reverted to three region of greater Upper Nile, greater Bhar El Gazalles and greater Equatoria. These piece of shits, watch propagandized from from the US and Europeans countries.
Even I am Writting they will go and pick up and look for a south Sudanese sounding name and think they are anyone.
Any piece trash who again try to bring *the cloned so-called Arabs of North Sudan, Abeshas (so-called ethiopians) prostitutes, Bantuses, fulf Arab states’ terrorism exporters and fianciers, evil juus (so-called israelis) attack dogs, Rwandans, Nigerians, evil white Americans, the evil white English people, their UN, their sleazy NGOs, their United nations in South Sudan (UNMISS) of Indians, Pakistanis, Nepalese, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, Roman Catholis, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Voodoos, Hindus, shamans, Irish people, Musllims, Juus (so-called) israeelis or jew into our and over ever ever ever again. and that South Sudanese of shit will be killed, reaosons, pure HATRED and RACISM.
Where is damnned Pope Francis, former Argentina piece of scrounger? Where queen Elizabeth of the devil infested island of England, where damned Cleopatra? She doesn’t exist.
Where is your Mark Anthony, he doesn’t exist? Here in our Nile valleys and plains.
Who do you lives think you are equal to?