On 4 November 2024, during the resumption of the Tumaini Peace Initiative in Nairobi, I greeted Gen. Kuol Manyang and said “Maale Kuar,” which means “hello,” Mr. Chairman. Amazingly, he bypassed and turned away as if he did not listen.
I believe if I greeted him in another language, he could respond without hesitation. However, all languages recognized in the interim constitution of South Sudan, “as amended,” must be respected and used without discrimination.
I presumed that Gen. Kuol knew Nuer, which is why I greeted him with “maale.” By then, I almost failed to understand why he declined to return my warm greeting. But I quickly realized that he was in a bad mood owing to the fact that the Tumaini Peace Initiative was resumed against his will and wish.
Before he arrived in Nairobi, the opposition had prior knowledge that Gen. Kuol was anti-Tumaini peace talks.
In one of the functions held in Juba, Gen. Kuol spoke about Tumaini in a negative manner that compelled former Chief of General Staff and leader of the South Sudan United Front (SSUF) Gen. Paul Malong to react angrily to him in Nairobi.
In the weeks that followed, General Kuol pulled out the government delegation from the Tumaini Peace Initiative and subsequently declared Tumaini dead during his live interview with Eye Radio in Juba. During the last United Nations General Assembly held on 23 September, 2025, Vice President Madam Josephine Lagu assured the assembly that South Sudan would return to the Tumaini initiative. This solemn promise turned out to be a lie to the world. Instead of returning to Nairobi for talks, South Sudan is returning to war without the slightest feeling of shame.
In the wake of the ongoing violence campaign pitting the SPLA-IO forces and the SSPDF Forces, I knew Gen. Kuol would quickly mobilize people to join the war under the theme “spare no lives” as parroted by the deputy chief of staff of SSPDF, Gen. Olony Thubo.
These actions of Gen. Kuol and Gen. Olony are long overdue. I have now come to realize that Gen. Kuol believes in defeat, not dialogue, in South Sudan.
On 28 January, Gen. Kuol was recorded and heard speaking in Jonglei State’s Twi-East County. In a trending video clip, he did not mince his words in terms of persuading people to join the war. Regrettably, he made his intention clear that youth should fight in Jonglei State.
On 28 January, the SPLM-IO-affiliated former member of parliament, Gai Mayen Luk, posted and shared Kuol’s statement in which Gen. Kuol said, “I have come here to encourage you, and I have come to tell the youth to go and fight.”
As we saw and heard, the way Gen. Kuol is acting and speaking is not known to the law. There are reasons to believe that Gen. Kuol was privy to the statement uttered by Gen. Olony in Duk county. As many people alluded to, General Olony, who said “spare no lives,” is just an attack dog.
However, the peace-loving community of Jonglei State, especially the Dinka and Nuer communities, must reject the push to participate in these violent clashes that are being preached and propagated by war mongers. We have a sufficient reason to discourage the Jonglei communities from joining the ongoing war.
The past and recent history are crystal clear.
No community has borne the brunt of these recurrent wars more than the innocent Dinka and Nuer people on both sides. If anything, the ongoing war should unite the Nuer and Dinka communities of Jonglei State.
At the moment, the Jonglei Community has an opportunity to surprise its detractors and dividers who thrive in their years of disunity. The people of Jonglei State have more things in common than outweigh the politics that divide them. As such, Jonglei communities must reject this war initiated and imported by Gen. Kuol and the group whose sole interest is to defend a fragmented and failed SPLM regime in Juba.
At his old age, Gen. Kuol ought to champion the consultation and consensus in order for the ceasefire and dialogue to resume as soon as possible.
However, Gen. Kuol is treading dangerously because he seems to have outlived his usefulness as a freedom fighter. If Gen. Kuol saw it fit, for South Sudan to return to an all-out-war, he should restrict the war to the combatants and or soldiers alone.
In his wisdom and knowledge, Gen. Kuol should refrain and restrain himself from inciting and inviting non-combatants in his war propaganda.
As a trained soldier and war veteran, Gen. Kuol was expected to be guided by the rules and principles of war for the good of the general public. Unfortunately, Gen. Kuol is no longer selfless but selfish by virtue of the fact that he has an appetite for the status quo.
As I approach the tail of this excerpt, I am persuading the Jonglei Community to call a spade a spade. The reckless and unprofessional behaviors on the parts on Gen. Kuol and Gen. Olony must be tamed if our communities are to realize the development and peace they deserve.
Frankly, I am not shy to point fingers at the Kuol and Olony because they are the ones who are deviating from the rules of war. In my blame to Gen. Kuol, I am not even telling him to stop the war, for that is beyond him; I am, however, telling him adhere to the rule of war if he must fight. Luckily, all is not lost. We have a light in the darkness that has engulfed our nation.
In Nuer, they say ‘‘Ruai migoa che mijiek peen,’’ which means talking nicely is not cowardice. Recently, war veteran Gen. Stephen Buay urged both armed and unarmed civilians to keep away from the raging conflict.
In January 2026, he authored a press statement in which he said, “These operations are strictly between the opposition’s armed forces and regime forces, and there is no justification for armed civilians to participate.”
In his individual capacity as the opposition leader of the South Sudan People’s Movement (SSPM), Gen. Buay, directed this factual message to all citizens in the three states of Greater Bahr el Ghazal, Equatoria, and Upper Nile.
I am sure this statement is available for wider readership and perusal at any time. It is one of the good pieces of advice for our citizens to take note of. As the citizens of South Sudan, we must take good counsel that is rooted in morality and law.
For instance, the idea by Gen. Buay that civilians and civilians’ properties should be kept away from fire and battlefields is based on international law and the law of war.
Finally, I encourage our citizens not to be dragged to war against their wills. At times, war and armed conflict have many negative consequences for people and their properties. In the book titled Operation Linda Nchi: Kenya’s military experience in Somalia, it invokes the words of commissioner El Gassim Wane, who stated that, “No war can be fought without allegations of human rights violations” (Uhuru and Karangi, 2014). With this being said, in Africa and worldwide, armed conflicts are often characterized by abuse of human rights, and that is a reason why war must come as a last resort.
The writer is a lawyer and a criminologist by profession. He was a former delegate to the High-Level Mediation for South Sudan, alias Tumaini Peace Initiative, where he represented SSPM as its national chairperson for legal and constitutional affairs. He can be reached for comments via eligodakb@gmail.com.
The views expressed in ‘opinion’ articles published by Radio Tamazuj are solely those of the writer. The veracity of any claims made is the responsibility of the author, not Radio Tamazuj.