Sunday Nation
Date: 17.07.2016
Page 34
Article size: 277 cm2
ColumnCM: 61.55
AVE: 132960.0
We should ensure peace in S. Sudan in our time
Five years ago, South Sudan
entered the community
of independent nations as
a proud self­governing African
republic. A sense of optimism
tion faction has withdrawn from
the capital to 'await details of the
ceasefire', and even though his
spokesman indicates they are not
planning for war, similar retreats
in the recent past have not ended
selves.
It should not have come as a
pervaded the region as a country
that had not known peace for dec­
ades finally settled down to the
onerous task of nation­building,
surprise therefore that an alarmist
social media post from one of the
factions, indicating their leader was
facing an imminent threat to his
bringing hope to the hundreds of
life, would trigger sudden conflict
resulting in the deaths of hundreds
thousands of refugees who had
well. The leader of the opposi­
finds military generals controlling
sections of their respective militia
largely answerable only to them­
well. Unless outside influence is
brought to bear in this situation,
South Sudan is on the brink of yet
another war. Here in Kenya, and
other parts of Africa, we talk about
South Sudan as if it is a special bas­
fled their country in worse times.
of citizens. One wonders what
Many young South Sudanese had
been born outside the country, and
theory of government resulted in
such a governing arrangement in
a country emerging from war and
hankering after a unifying leader­
ship that would help the citizens
to focus on rebuilding their broken
lives and planning for the future of
their offspring.
Quite clearly, the patched­up
South Sudanese government was
the proverbial camel derided as
being a horse designed by com­
mittee. A government without full
control of its territory, without a
outfits. In their wake they will leave
many livelihoods destroyed, and
many people maimed and killed for
unified system of defending its
trivial reasons.
some returned to their ancestral
roots for the first time after inde­
pendence.
Unfortunately, conflict soon
erupted over power sharing
between two factions led by unre­
pentant warlords backed by ethnic
militia. International mediators
were required to hammer an agree­
ment to ensure 'peace in our time',
to paraphrase British Prime Minis­
ter Neville Chamberlain on the eve
of the Second World War.
Reviewing the current structure
of the South Sudanese govern­
ment, one wonders how such an
arrangement was meant to last for
any length of time. The two war­
lords shared everything there was
to share in government, including
the right to retain their own militia
instead of having one national de­
fence force. Within each faction one
borders, without a sustainable view
of a united future, is not a govern­
ment. Without accountability to
anyone but themselves, the war­
lords will proceed to grab whatever
comes their way, and use whatever
surplus they have to appease their
restless militia.
Individual members of the mi­
litia will always be seeking to 'live
We must... help
establish institutions in
South Sudan that ensure
citizens enjoy living in a
free state"
off the land' as is the habit of such
This is the reality of life in Juba,
the South Sudanese capital. It is a
modern­day Wild West where law
and order are shape­shifting con­
cepts whose present form is only
defined by the one wielding the
greatest firepower.
While a temporary ceasefire has
been agreed at the time of writing
this piece, it is clear that all is not
ket case whose circumstances bear
no resemblance to our own. Unfor­
tunately, when one scratches the
surface they find festering wounds
just waiting for the opportune time
to erupt. For a couple of decades
under Siad Barre, nobody thought
that Somalia could erupt so cata­
strophically after his exit. Today
the country stands as a monument
to the triumph of sectarianism over
national unity.
We must learn lessons from the
past and help establish institutions
in South Sudan (and most of Af­
rica!) that ensure the citizens enjoy
living in a free state and pursue
their dreams without fearing that
tomorrow they will be killed.
Atwoli is associate professor
of psychiatry and dean, School
of Medicine, Moi University;
[email protected]
Ipsos Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya