James Gatdet Dak Lampuar
Africa-Press – South-Sudan. It is important to remind the public that the ongoing political drama since 2013, now turned into a legal case by President Salva Kiir against his longtime executive deputy as well as political rival, Dr. Riek Machar, has been partly about leadership succession.
Every South Sudanese who is familiar with politics in the country knows that the two leaders supported each other in the pre-independent South Sudan during the 2010 general elections when the whole Sudan was still one nation.
The duo won the presidential election with a landslide victory as ‘running mates’ against Dr. Lam Akol, who was the only opposition candidate vying for the top office.
Dr. Machar vigorously campaigned for Kiir in his strongholds, urging people to vote for Kiir, saying voting for Kiir was equally voting for him.
Machar was, however, not happy all along with how Kiir was allowing corruption to grow horns and killing development in the country with impunity under Kiir’s watch as the ‘Pen Holder.’
Machar also made those concerns known to Kiir. At one time, Kiir reluctantly wrote an infamous letter to 75 senior officials whom he said had stolen a total of 4 billion US dollars from the government and ‘politely asked’ them to return the money. Nobody responded! The matter died naturally.
Despite all that, the working relationship between Kiir and Machar at the time could still be described as fairly mutually friendly until the 2013 crisis.
The genesis of the 2013 crisis began to bud when the ruling SPLM party made their internal assessment throughout the country. In the end, the party General Secretariat in Juba reported that SPLM had lost both vision and direction and needed a rescue. People pointed fingers at the Chairman, Kiir, for failing the Party.
Meanwhile, the first general elections in South Sudan as an independent nation were slated for 2015. This necessitated the SPLM to come up with a flag bearer. It was either to confirm Kiir or any other contestant, since the Party’s constitution allowed for anyone to contest for the Chairmanship position.
When Dr. Machar, Hon. Pagan Amum (former SPLM SG), and Mama Rebecca Nyandeng (current VP in government) made known their interest to become flag bearers, this is when things fell apart in Kiir’s nerves. His only way out of the trap was to fake a coup and violently remove Machar and the rest from the capital. The supposed democratic leadership succession process was aborted. War broke out!
From that time, whether in 2013 or in 2016 or in 2018 or in 2025, President Kiir, with tribal undertones behind his rivalry, is making sure that he will never implement a peace agreement with Machar, et al., which will attempt another democratic process to remove him or introduce reforms to loosen his grip on power.
But here is the challenge!
Kiir has now realized that even if his use of force and authoritarianism as the one holding the pen, wielding the state power, and accessing the state resources could keep him in power for a longer period or indefinitely, nature will not allow him. His illness, coupled with aging, is fast catching up with him.
Surprisingly, he doesn’t want to timely go for intensive medical treatment. Because of this health issue with uncertainty, he is hence looking for a successor to pick. And this, preferably, may be someone close to his family, who can ensure the protection of his legacy, wealth, and family before he can leave power.
But with Machar as the main heavyweight in South Sudan’s politics, and also the main opposition leader, Kiir’s personal pick would not survive a democratic process or election. After all, no other pick among his circles will enjoy the similar historical recognition as President Kiir has enjoyed—being the only remaining founding member of the SPLA/SPLM in 1983—although he has now failed the nation.
With such disturbing thoughts in his mind, which not only lack nationalism but are also selfish, he and his cohorts—in violation of Machar’s human rights—want to ensure that they first do one of the following:
Eliminate Machar (God forbid); or
Retire Machar from politics forcefully (God forbid).
The first option or choice to eliminate Machar is currently not popular even among Kiir’s inner circles. They understand its serious generational implications in haunting leaders unless Kiir doesn’t care what would happen after him. It also has no legal and moral basis, plus its other repercussions regionally and internationally.
The second option is what Kiir is now trying to pursue through the fabricated messy charges in a would-be kangaroo court.
Kiir, being an expert in playing victim and innocence while at the same time claiming to be a forgiver who forgives you after wronging you, wants to achieve two things in this illegal scheme:
Kiir wants Machar to be falsely convicted of the manufactured crimes, although he knows his party created the Nasir crisis. They purposely grounded Major General Majur Dak in Nasir for so long to be killed through a persistent conflict with the armed civilians, known as the ‘White Army.’ This is a conflict that had been going on for years, as Kiir’s forces used to loot civilians and rape women in Nasir. They also refused Machar’s advice to instead deploy unified forces in Nasir, per the security arrangements provided for in the R-ARCSS. This is in order to finally use it as a pretext for achieving this illegal scheme against Machar. They used Machar’s previous good relationship with the older generation’s White Army since the 1990s, although he never ordered the White Army to carry out attacks.
If Machar is convicted in a complicit kangaroo court, and the case is not dismissed, Kiir would after that issue a pardon to free him. By doing this, he would have tarnished the name of his political rival as a convicted criminal, while at the same time receiving public praise as a forgiver.
Because the law dictates that any person or political leader convicted of a crime should not qualify to run in the presidential elections, for example, Kiir would use this to forcefully retire Machar, at least for a period of time, until the 2026 elections, or whenever, are conducted.
Rubbish! They will fail with it, FINALLY!
They better stop this nonsensical illegal court process. It doesn’t serve the interests of the people of South Sudan. It does not serve peace and reconciliation. It only fans the flames of fire, disunity, and disintegration of the nation. Free Dr. Machar unconditionally, and undo any other anti-peace action.
If there are any wise advisors around President Kiir, which I doubt, they should advise him against this dangerous trajectory!
If Kiir is serious, let the Hybrid Court be established per the R-ARCSS intact so that he can answer for the 2013 massacres of thousands of innocent civilians in Juba.
This nonsense will backfire badly, and those who ignorantly seem to momentarily celebrate this dangerous path now will regret it, FINALLY!
If not people, God has a thousand ways to solve a problem! He will activate one at the right time.
Dr. Machar will prevail, and South Sudan shall be free at last!
Source: Radio Tamazuj
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