On 9 July 2011, South Sudan attained its God given right of self-determination through an internationally monitored Referendum. This referendum was granted in the Kenyan brokered Accord dubbed Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), ratified and signed in 2005 in Nairobi between the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and National Congress Party (NCP), with a solid backing not just from the international community but also from all political parties on both sides in Sudan.
This historical plebiscite was conducted after more than fifty years of armed struggle for independence. The right of self-determination is enshrined in Article 1, subsection 2 of the United Nations (UN) Charter.
You would concur that there was a legitimate reason why this particular Right of self-determination was put and positioned as the number one in the Charter.
In fact, it is one of the core articles and political rights that give this charter meaning to exist up to today. In any book or convention, the chapters are tabulated based on their hierarchy and importance.
I thank the drafters who crafted this Charter because we benefited from its number one provision. As a proponent and consumer of international law, I know that the right of Self-determination is inherent.
However, the UN charter expedited the attainment of our independence. The expedition of our independence is something worth acknowledging. Before the enactment of this Charter, many African states were under colonial rule and Sudan is no exception.
In any case, if you remove this provision on the right of self-determination, then the entire charter can collapse due to a lack of substance. In 2019, the World Bank Report, which was later echoed by Inform-Action in its report entitled ‘‘Democracy, conflict and Exclusion in Africa,’’ South Sudan was estimated to have 12 million people.
This enthusiastic and energetic population comprises about 64 different tribes, namely Acholi, Anyuak, Atut, Avukanya, Bari, Chollo, Didinga, Dinka, Nuer, and Pari, to mention but a few. Further, these African tribes were categorized and classified into three large sections, namely Nilotic Pastoralists, Nilo-Hamitic Agrarians, and the South-western Sudanese.
Religiously speaking, the majority of these South Sudanese are Christians with (61%), followed by Animists and Muslims with (33%) and (6%) respectively.
Before his untimely demise, Dr. John Garang was quoted as saying ‘‘I and those who joined me in the bush and fought for more than 21 years have brought to you the CPA on a golden plate. Our mission is accomplished. It is now your turn, especially for those who did not have a chance to experience bush life, to benefit. When the time comes to vote for a Referendum, it is your golden chance to determine your fate.’’
The Solomonic words of John Garang have been wittingly misconstrued and misinterpreted by South Sudanese, particularly elites, including the president. On page forty-four of the aforementioned report published by Inform-action group, it was opined that ‘‘Those now in power understood the concept of golden chance described by Dr. John Garang, as a way to reward themselves with economic benefits through the awarding of contracts in an ethnic pattern (Dinka to Dinka economic empowerment)’’
The ruling SPLM elites have misunderstood this concept to mean that they should reward themselves and their families with national cake, and thus leave ordinary South Sudanese citizenry impoverished without food, roads, and health centers. This is an artificial political problem that requires a political solution. We have said time and again that this is not a tribal war.
However, this frail and failing SPLM regime is politically using the Dinka community as a shield to hide behind it to divert attention. The above-mentioned concept of Dinka-to-Dinka economic empowerment is partly deceptive. This SPLM regime safeguards and protects the families of a few individuals in power today, and not yesterday. It does not benefit the Dinka tribe because not all Dinka people were in power today and yesterday.
The Bible in the book of Proverbs, verse 15 says ‘‘The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, but the destruction of the poor is their poverty.’’ For over fifty years, we demanded the total liberation of South Sudan purpose of achieving Peace, Justice, and Reconciliation of our society.
Presently, we are faced with a myriad of challenges. Right now, the country of South Sudan does not know peace. Moreover, the population is divided along political and tribal lines. As you have heard and seen, there is a runaway corruption and rampant violation of human rights, particularly the rights of children and women.
The late John Garang was proved wrong by the ruling SPLM elites. In 2005, during the signing ceremony of the CPA in Kenya, he said that with the signing of the CPA, Sudan will not be the same again, for there will be no bombs falling from the sky on innocent children and women.
In 2025, starting from March to December, bombs have been falling randomly on innocent children of Nasir County and other parts of South Sudan.
Since independence, the once joyous and jubilant citizens of South Sudan have not yet been permitted to elect their leaders of choice. Unfortunately, South Sudanese had run away from the brutal dictatorship of the NCP in Sudan only to find themselves in another bloody dictatorship of the SPLM in South Sudan. ‘‘Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.’’ Romans 1:22
Nonetheless, just like the dictatorship in the North under the dictator and deposed President Omar El Bashir was resisted and wrestled down in 2023, this visionless and agenda-less dictatorship in the South under the inept leadership of President Kiir will still be resisted and defeated sooner than later. It is just a matter of time before they face their political Waterloo.
As they often say, the writing is on the wall. The SPLM’s days are numbered. Their exit is on sigh. We shall show them the exit door by hook or crook. Of course, their imminent and inevitable departure from the reign of their corrupted power requires a well-coordinated and concerted effort of all and sundry. The recent establishment of the military blocs, namely UPA and SPLM-IO-NAS, is a case in point.
I am sure and confident that once they are shown the exit door, no form or type of SPLM will be allowed to come back to power. This is because they are liars who live in denial.
As we know, the foundation of SPLM was watered and cemented with the blood of innocent and visionary secessionists such as Samuel Gai Tut and Akot Atem, who they murdered in 1984. In the Book titled The Call for Democracy in Sudan, authored by the late patriotic Lawyer late Dr. Mansur Khalid, Dr. John Garang confessed in writing that the SPLM/SPLA’s first bullet was shot against the Southerners who were agitating for secession.
From its inception in 1983, SPLM purported to be striving for a united Sudan contrary to the wills and wishes of the people of Southern Sudan, now the Republic of South Sudan.
In about eight years, SPLM wasted people’s time fighting for an unachievable vision of a united and democratic Sudan. They are double failures. In our direct watch, the SPLM founders and proponents, some of whom are alive, failed not just to achieve the so-called United Sudan vision, but also, they failed to achieve and actualize democracy in South Sudan.
It is common knowledge that South Sudan, under the SPLM regime, is a de facto and de jure one-party state. Evidently, their twin political parties, like fractious SPLM-IO and NDM parties, which are part and parcel of the National Unity Government, have no voice, for they are not allowed to call and convene the political rallies as required by the Peace Agreement dubbed R-ARCISS.
I must say, if at all the SPLM was believing and still believing in the ideology of a united Sudan, then the government of South Sudan is not just in dirty hands but in wrong hands as well. As a matter of fact, we have no problem being united.
The question is: why don’t they unite South Sudan now? It is either that the SPLM does not believe in the ideology of unity or the ideology went with its owner, Dr. John Garang, who died in 2005. President Kiir wanted to rule for life using the strategies and tactics of pitting tribe against tribe and clan against clan. The Dinka and Nuer-sponsored animosity is a case in point.
Entirely, South Sudan has no political space where democracy and good governance can be exercised in order for our politics to mature and thrive to the level of neighboring states like Kenya, for example. Former Kenyan legislator, Ababu Namwamba, in his public lecture delivered in Sagini Hall at Kisii University, said that political diversity is political maturity.
In view of the foregoing, one ideal way of showcasing our willingness to make our politics mature is to accept political diversity in the country. In 2018, the regime announced the separation of the SPLM Party and the army wing called the SPLA.
However, this separation was done on paper only. The Army of South Sudan is apolitical, owing to the discriminatory manner of appointing and promoting its commanders and Chief of General Staffs. We shall face SPLM and hold it by the horns.
This ingrate SPLM party is presiding over a failed State devoid of functional state institutions that can deliver services to its impoverished population.
In this must-read book called Pillars of Statecraft, the author Kofo Obasanjo-Blackshire rightly avers that ‘‘Failed states are typically understood as regions where there is a total vacuum of authority or places where anarchy prevails, and warfare is random.’’
Characteristically, public theft and insecurity are the things of the day. Under the SPLM regime, the 2018 Peace Agreement was defeated, and the constitution was equally defiled, thus making the rule of law nonexistent in South Sudan.
As of now, each one of us should be warned that the life and future of South Sudan’s hard-won sovereignty is in jeopardy. It is therefore incumbent upon us to make necessary noise with a view to alert and awaken our international friends, who toiled and moiled with us during the struggle for self-rule.
These utterances are designed for the international community to compel the SPLM-regime to behave orderly in a manner that respects the moral principle ‘‘Do right thing because it’s the right to do.’’ We need coordinated and concerted efforts to stand up so as to protect the gains of our Liberation, failure to which our independence risks being reversed.
Lastly, I should reiterate that South Sudan is on the path of ruination due to state capture perpetuated by the existing lords of impunity. The once promising State of South Sudan is now a lawless country ruled by ethnic and illiterate warlords who should be barred and denied the chance to go scot-free.
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.