John Garang
fought for many years for South Sudanese to have their own republic, but he
died just before that dream came through two years ago, and the taste of
independence has only just acquired savor before Africa’s newest republic
joined the company of comrades in the power struggles that continue to keep
Africa on the low ends of all major sociopolitical indices. As Christmas Eve
celebrations ensure around the world, there are talks of mass murders and
displacement in South Sudan. According to the UN
News, “Mass extrajudicial killings, the targeting of individuals on the
basis of their ethnicity and arbitrary detentions have been documented in
recent days.” Some estimated 500 people have already been killed and another
81,000 displaced. This is all as a result of an alleged coup attempt by
loyalists of former vice president Riek Machar against
the Government of President Salva Kiir.
When
South Sudan obtained independence from Sudan in July 2011, there was hope that
the new state would be saved from the treacherous political struggles of many
young African republics because it had sufficient errors to learn from and
enough successes and international support to cherish, but now it seems the
world would have to hold its head and watch the usual African TV scenario as
thousands of South Sudanese weep and die at the hands of their own leaders in
what is gradually becoming another sibling war. According to the UN, the war is
increasingly becoming ethnically targeted killings pitting the Dinka and the
Lou Nuer ethnic groups against one another.
At
a time of the year when people around the world celebrate moments of joy with
family and friends, the idiots of South Sudan have decided not even this new
nation would be spared from the usual African baptism of blood, sorrow, and
tears. For what would an African country be without mounting what Wole Soyinka
refers to as the ‘rickety rungs of war-weary democratic ladder!’It seems there
can be no liberty of choice even for those who for decades sacrificed their
lives with hope to experience freedom and independence.
KATEHUN (pronounced Ka-te-hun)-is a Mende word for a symposium or community center where disputes are settled. Everyone is permitted to make his/her case before a presiding chief in an open forum.
On this forum, I write primarily for those who stand committed to the Rule of Law in Africa and to the value that our future is better determined by the government of the people, by the people, and in service for the people. To advance the African value of Ubuntu through International Law and the Principles of a United Nations, which propels us towards Life in Larger Freedom.
