Col John Garanga

If the dead could speak Garanga would have disciplined the two leaders in South Sudan who have caused the mess that was un called for at this point in time. At its creation, the Republic of South Sudan was time-honored and received with open and enthusiastic arms by all international community that had acted as midwife to its painful birth. All praises were for Garanga and his team little did they know that he had played his crucial part and the colleagues wouldn’t fly without him. To take the country to another level of a meaningful independence is a myth.

The people started on the celebrations way in advance and every foreigner could see the mood in Juba, the southern capital and the wider region that were jubilant with final prose cession and rallies.  The   Baganda have a saying that’’ Kula zikulabe” literally meaning when you grow up and become independent you are bound to face challenges. Garanga took them through the most difficult stages as they were all united; he left when the food was on the table. Who should have the food first? Is what has made the leaders kill the innocent souls who thought the freedom had knocked on their country ’’Kumbe” it was the devil that had come to claim their lives.

The people of south Sudan had a referendum on the 9th and 15th January 2011,which was one of the consequences of the 2005 Naivasha Agreement between the Khartoum central government and the Sudan’ people’s liberation Army involvement. On February 2011, the referendum commission published the final results, with 98.83% voting in favor of independence, we had over three million people giving a nod to the process and only forty four were in disagreement and even the number of votes were still well over the requirement of 60% turnout, the majority vote for succession was not in question.

During the process the Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir once said that the southern region had a right to choose to secede and that the referendum was helpful because unity could not be forced by power” but he noted that the south does not have the ability to provide for its citizens or create a state of authority. If the president of the south Salva Kiir and the rebel leader Riek Machar continue with their intentions they will be proving what Muhammad Ali said, that leaders deliberately hang on to the principles of hatred and envy then this means that South Sudan should not dream of peace to prevail tomorrow. According to Salva Kiir this is a man- made disaster so if this is so why can’t both of them do what it takes to stop it?

These two leaders who once shared the same plate and ideas have proved to their people that leadership is all about who is strong by killing innocent people, who danced throughout the night on the day they got independence. They kept assuming that the leaders in control will see them through the dark days and lead them to the Promised Land.

Their troubles will not end soon since they even resorted to killing Ugandans who trade in South Sudan, snatching their goods and services without payments done.

Ever since the Sudanese started the war Uganda has been one of the neighbors babysitting the southerners and no deaths were reported in Uganda contrarily to what is happening to Ugandans in the south Sudan, Ugandans have lost their lives not by accident but the southerners themselves decided to intentionally kill our dear brothers and sisters. I don’t think this is what Garrang fought for he dreamed of an independent, peaceful and developed south, so if these two people would want to respect his wishes they should quickly stop bloodshed and look forward to peaceful means of solving their power wrangles immediately. Despite UPDF’s presence and the intervention of UN the secretary general little or no success has been registered.

FARIDAH LULE

Project Associate

Citizens’ Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda (CCEDU)