Emmanuel Jal, popularly known as War Child, is not only a typical South Sudanese-Canadian by nationality, but also a global citizen by his music and artistic works, which have found a place in the hearts and souls of many in Africa and the world. It is common knowledge that he is one of the luckiest South Sudanese, having traveled far and wide, leveraging his talents, and is a world-renowned artist and activist.
Through his musical and philanthropic tours, Jal has had an opportunity to meet several important people and dignitaries such as Nelson Mandela, Kofi Annan, Uhuru Kenyatta, Dr. William Samoei Ruto, Dr. Riek Machar, and Stephen Buay Rolyang, to mention a few. On 25 February 2025, I was privileged to meet him at the venue of the High-level Mediation for South Sudan, commonly known as the Tumaini Peace Initiative. Since then, we have been in contact and communication on current and contemporary issues in South Sudan. Apart from his talent in music, he is an inquisitive person and a man of ideas. More often than seldom, he gives talks and speeches on different fora.
For those who are unaware, he is also an actor and author of two books: My Life is Art and War Child. Globally, the name Emmanuel Jal is synonymous with being a refugee. He has documented and shared his story of being a war child, being a refugee, and his music journey with the world. On 16 October 2016, Darcy MacDonald penned a news article titled Born into war and saved by music, in which she opined: “A former child soldier kidnapped and trained to fight at around seven or eight in his native South Sudan, actor/author/hip hop the artist and human rights activist has certainly come a long away.”
Indeed, he comes from a far and humble background. As we know, Jal is an original member of the ‘lost boys’ and Red Army of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) that fought for South Sudan to attain independence on 9 July 2011. In South Sudan and Unity State in particular, Emmanuel Jal is a household name owing to the educational opportunities offered by a charity organization called Gua Africa that he founded or co-founded. Nonetheless, as a frequent commentator in South Sudan’s politics, Jal is loved and hated in equal measure.
As a human rights activist and agitator, Jal often aligns his views, not just with the opposition, but with the downtrodden who call for peace and accountability. This has put him on a collision course with the present regime in South Sudan. His post on Facebook on 18 June 2025, titled “Militarized government that favors one tribe,” is a case in point.
Why is Emmanuel Jal trending today?
In the wee hours of Saturday, 12 July 2025, I woke up and found Jal trending on social media. At the moment, he is the subject of discussions on most South Sudanese social media platforms. At 10 o’clock, I found time to open my Facebook account. Immediately, I saw a news article written by a digital media channel called Naam Studio. As I scrolled and skimmed through social media later that day, I realized many of my friends had shared the article on their timelines.
Soon after perusing a few posts and comments, I called one of my long-time colleagues and a former Leek Community leader in Kenya, who had shared the same. On top of his post, he wrote a short note which read “She may be right.” The news article contains and carries a story of a Dinka woman called Akol Majak from Tonj, Warrap State. In the said news article, she purported to be the biological sister of the famous Emmanuel Jal. In her verbal and written account, she narrated that Emmanuel Jal left their ancestral home in present-day Warrap State after displacement occasioned by Sudan Armed Forces soldiers who were fighting the SPLA led by Dr. John Garang at the time. In part, she said their separation happened during the liberation of South Sudan decades ago.
Soon after skimming through the article and watching the video, I concluded that Naam Studios might have published and posted this story to attract readers with a view to getting more followers, as is the case with upcoming content creators. Despite making the above conclusion, I went on to call and cracked jokes with the above-mentioned colleague, who stated that “she may be right.”
I persuaded him, saying that because we are the natives from Unity State, where Jal hails from, let us read and analyse this article together to establish if there is any truth in it. He immediately opened and started reading the article to us while we were still talking via Facebook Messenger. When he read and reached the first sentence in the second paragraph, I told him to stop forthwith. In the paragraph, she stated that Jal was shot on a mission and taken to Wau by white men, and might have found his way abroad. As people who know Jal in and out, we analysed and dismissed the above statement.
First and foremost, Jal has never said in all his interviews and interactions that he was once shot during the war. By the time he was in Ethiopia, he was not yet 10 years of age. Even if she had claimed Jal was shot near the Ethiopian border, no one would believe her. In the late 1980s, Jal was among the children who were conscripted into the SPLA, whose soldiers were being trained in Ethiopia. He did not leave Unity State due to a gunshot wound as she [Akol] claims. However, she is partly right to say Jal is her brother because I know many people regard the musician as their brother from another mother. I earlier wrote on my Facebook page that Jal is a brother to all in South Sudan and beyond, and especially those with whom he interacted and inspired through his impactful life.
In any case, if you happened to remove his Christian name “Emmanuel,” he is known locally as Jal Jock Gatwech. He is a brave and brilliant South Sudanese son of the soil from Leer and Mayendit counties in Unity State.
The writer is a lawyer and criminologist by profession and is a former delegate to the Tumaini Peace Initiative who represented the South Sudan People’s Movement (SSPM) as its chairperson for legal and constitutional affairs. He was also a former chairperson of the South Sudan Liech Community and the former chairperson of the South Sudan Students’ Association in Kenya. He can be reached via eligodakb@yahoo.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.