The People of Maiwut are standing firm with the Nuer

Two days ago, there was a video clip circulating on social media purporting that the people of Maiwut support the rogue regime of Juba.

This is not the case but an intended cash grab by a few. As authentic and genuine as the video may have seemed to the outsiders, from the insiders perspective, there is no reason for Gaajaak to back killer Kiir. Therefore, such a pronouncement was never a united assertion.

In hindsight, the video was more of a propaganda machine and a disinformation campaign to the public that Gaajaak stood with the killer. This can be damaging for Gaajaak as a whole because it can easily create an atmosphere where others would be bystander in this conflict while our loved ones are getting slaughtered.

The Gaajaak House with all its five sections (Chie Chany, Chie Waw, Cie Nyajani, Chie Reng and Thiang) have the same grievances shared by Nuer against Dinka led regime. The Nuer public needs to understand that there are such strange breeds in every society who becomes at odd with the status quo. Siding with the killer by the people we call “Nuer Wew” does not loose trend in every community.

You could still find those that their immediate family members were murdered but still carry out Kiir’s atrocities in the name of what he call “government’.

Could anyone imagine that General Gathoth Gatkuoth hails from Ulang which is now the backbone of the Nuer Resistance? Definitely not. But what we could see is Ulang and Nasir White Army putting their lives on the line for a good cause so that women and children do not get slaughtered or raped.

Despite this worthy cause, Nuer Wew in Juba pretend as if nothing is happening on their families.That is also why we should not listen to people who are at the receiving end of Kiir’s money through Ezekiel Lol and other Nuer puppets in Juba who do not represent the interest of their communities but their bellies.

Gaajaak are decent people with no memory lapses. What Salva Kiir did and still doing to the people of South Sudan, particularly to the Nuer cannot be traded with a few pennies.

As recent as over a decade ago, not to include the attack on civilians carried by Bol Ruach Rom and his group when they marched to Pagak, Gaajack lost severely some important people. That did not only happen in battlefields but also on those murdered in cold blood executions.

Lam Chuol Thechuong, Dr Koang Toang and so many important figures would have still been with us today if Salva Kiir did not choose terror over democratic governance to underpin his reign irrespective of people choices and aspirations.

His dislike for democracy where people of South Sudan and political parties in the country can choose freely through an election is what led to bloodbath and all messes the country is going through.

In an ideal world, anyone would find it hard to come across a sound minded individual who sympathise with Kiir against the public opinion.

Sadly though, the world has changed and so are the individuals who laugh and celebrate the death of their loved ones in the hands of the Juba regime. These few individuals, be it from Ulang, Maiwut, Akobo or Mayom should not tarnish the image of the majority such as what those in the video try to portray claiming that the view they hold is  entirety shared by the population of Gaajaak which is a lie as Gaajaak stand shoulder to shoulder with the Nuer in the quest for freedom and justice.

In this instance, lack of organisation and ambiguity in to the arrest of Dr Riek as well as the concern regarding his welfare might be a contributing factor to the cautious approach now being taken by so many Nuer including Gaajack themselves.

But the wait might not be too long not only from Nuer in general but I believe this has been a time now that many people in South Sudan have proven killer Kiir to be a real tyrant who won’t stop killing his people until he is removed by fire power.

To be frank, Gaajaak are not in parallel or in contrary to what our brothers and sisters in Nasir and Ulang are going through.

Kiir’s regime is an existential threat to the Nuer. The same as GPLM party in Gambella which worked to kill or chase Nuer from Ethiopia. People would be kidding themselves to believe that there is a government out there they can call theirs.

Such a belief is a fantasy because it cannot happen by bribery with few south Sudanese pounds. People have to feel trust with the government and this trust is guided by safety, respected of human rights and human dignity, adherence to democratic principles where people freely elect their own leaders whether, it is a President of the nation, governor of the state or a suburban councillor (payam commissioner).

Such a system does not exist in South Sudan but Kiir’s decree. The question to ask is what government are we talking about? This is contrary to what the South Sudanese fought for during the liberation struggle.

In Pagak, many girls and women were raped by the savage forces. Some were brutally killed for refusing to be raped. Still there was no accountability and the worst thing is that these issues are of a daily occurrence across the Nuer land with barracks sheltering these wild pigs.

The magnitude of crimes committed against the Nuer does not confine to only those that oppose the abuse of human rights. One of the persons with the sister killed in Pagak after refusing to be raped was a die-hard supporter of Juba regime. He was in the area by time the incident happened.

By the look of the events in South Sudan particularly in the Nuer land, your heart could not be broken more based on these circumstances. We need to come to our sense and realise that the corrupted money that supposed to be directed to services is not spread around by crime bosses to create divisions among the Nuer or silence the public.

If we allow that to happen, then we would just become like fishes supporting the fisherman not realisng that taking the bait would eventually kill them.

This is a serious matter for the rest of us who sre not tainted with blood monry yet. But for others who are already in the theatre, they will work hard to thwart people victory because they very well know they have nowhere to live in the Nuer Land.

That is why you see Nuer in Juba splashing ill earned money to any food lover and chiefs and witchcrafts or those with a greater say among the Nuer so that we fail. This should not be allowed to happen.

May God Bless the Nuer

This article was written and prepared by Pel K Chol

A Macquarie Uinvesity Graduate with Master Degree in the Centre for Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism

He can be reached via pcvisionmatters@gmail.com