A By Bonaventure Mutapi Mutale
Just
when Africa and the world at large thought the belligerents in South Sudan
conflict, the world’s youngest nation had ceased fire in order to converge
their efforts on moving the nation forward, did the nation again go up into a blaze.
Before and around Monday, 11th July, 2016, pandemonium broke out and
Juba the capital city of South Sudan was the center of feuds and warfare. And
this time around, the mayhem and fighting was so fierce and brutal to the
extent that the just in two days since the skirmishing broke out, 200 people
had been reportedly killed in addition to many unaccounted for casualties. International
media reported that the authorities at South Sudanese Ministry of Health had
equally presaged that the death toll from the fighting in Juba could have risen
up to over 270. The sporadic confrontation in Juba is a clear affront on the
Agreement of the Resolution of Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, which
was signed in August 2015 between President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar’s
warring cabals. This is the agreement that was the bedrock of the Declaration
of Cessation of Hostilities between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA)
loyal to Salva Kirr and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition
(SPLA-IO) loyal to his first Vice President, Riek Machar. This declaration
seemed to have held intermezzo.
These
hostilities between the two belligerents seems to be deeply engrained in the
stern and ferocious fight for leadership which many people may wish to note has
bedeviled South Sudan even before it gained self-rule from the main Sudan. The
most incommodious thing about this post-independence conflict in South Sudan is
the generation of contentions by several observers as to whether the fight for
independence was in the interest of the South Sudanese or it was about mere
fight for political power. The case of South Sudan rapid degeneration into a warzone
for a country that appears to espouse freedom and unity for a people that had
been down trodden for a long time is bothersome. This is a paradigm that Africa
and the world at large should not sit back and watch turn into a bonfire. Those
who follow African events will confirm that this is not the first time that
this altercation since South Sudan gained self-rule. In 2013, after tensions
arose between President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar, who is of
the Dinka ethnicity and Vice President Riek Machar, who is of the Nuer
ethnicity, war broke out. As usual, the casualties are the civilians especially
women and children.
For
those who may care to further know will attest to the fact that Riek Machar
even before independence has been at the epicenter of controversy and polemics
with the sedulous late Dr. John Garang who at that served as pre-independence
President of the South Sudan. Though Riek Machar had been a key figure in the
eventual attainment of sovereignty, it has been come clear that he has been a divisive
factor thereby making it practically impossible for the newly independent
country pull in one direction. This is the reason why observers of African
affairs like this author may question his move to go into hiding after the
events of July 7, 2016 military face-ff. This action alone raises concerns on
the sustainability of the power-sharing agreement. Where is the United Nations
(UN) in the midst of this crisis? What about the African Union and regional
bodies around the East Africa which South Sudan is a party to?
This
is no time for Africa and the world at large to put your feet up their feet into
relaxation because the concord the world is simply cosmetic and temporal. The
truth is that a conflict is smoldering in view of the fact that the
belligerents in the chaos are strongmen with considerable influence that would throw
South Sudan’s stability into doubt. This development may also vindicate the
reluctance main Sudan had over granting independence to South Sudan. The
citizens would question the essence of gaining independence when their national
leadership is embroiled in skirmishes and combat. But again, the biggest
question that requires answering and vivid understanding as Africa and the
world at large responds to the crisis is to establish the footing of the war.
Why is it that a newly independent extremely poor country with so much natural
wealth would descend into such chaos? What does this say about the future of
the peace and security around that country? What does the future hold for a
country reported by World Health Organization (WHO) as having some of the worst
health indicators in the world? This is a country were under-five infant
mortality rate is 135.3 per 1,000, while maternal mortality is the highest in
the world at 2,053.9 per 100,000 live births.
Having
pointed out the above, it can be adduced that the world’s youngest nation has
long way to go to attain a workable responsive governance system in tandem with
other progressive African countries in view of the on goings there. But again,
this also gives an indication that perhaps, there was a lack of preparation for
post-independence life in all institutions of Governance. Prior to attaining
self-rule, one would have hoped that those tribal rebel groups should have been
effectively disarmed and clear post-independence transition roadmap set. The
state of affairs also shows a very bad example of having too many ‘strongmen’
with massive almost ‘religious’ influence on a certain section of society. Silva Kiir and Reik Machar are very
influential figures and none of them appear willing to concession their respective
establishments. This mayhem has to come to an end and it can only end if the
United Nations and its collectives take a strong stand and encourage both President Salva Kiir and First
Vice President Riek Machar to push for calm for the sake of the South Sudanese
people who are usually the victims of war and its off shoots. This conflict
should not be allowed to generate into a full scale bedlam. Africa is
undergoing a renaissance but this can only be achieved if all countries have
their peace and security guaranteed. Africa has witnessed enough conflicts and
cannot afford endure more. South Sudan should swim and not sink into a failed
state after being independent for only 5 years!
The Author is a Lusaka Based Observer of
Local and African Affairs.
For comments, email:
bonaventuremutale@gmail.com
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