South Sudan: Injustice to one tribe is injustice to all tribes.

In response to an article which appeared on the Sudan tribune website on the 2nd of December 2008 under the title: southern Sudanese: let’s fight for common goals, which is in turn a response to yet another article:

This is what the author had to say “Unfortunately, the course for dreamt liberation is thousands of miles away but commentators whose aims are not known are stirring up tribal differences with lands odes, singing what they call "Madi Land Grabbing." An article appearing November 30, 2008 on Gurtong Peace Trust, entitled ’Land Issues in Nimule”.

The author seems to be well versed with the reality on the ground though he chose to present it in a rather biased way.

• The SPLM/A fought to liberate the marginalized people of the Sudan.
• SPLM is lobbing for a united south Sudan to defeat a common enemy in Khartoum.
• Nimule and Bor, both saw massive displacement.

• Why did the Dinka Bor remain in Ma’diland when the Ma’di fled to Uganda?
• Why southerners write more on land grabbing issues in the south than writing about the delayed border demarcation between the north and the south.

I can see where the author of the article wants to drag the readers and the general opinion. But the fact that the SPLM/A fought to restore the political rights of the marginalized does not make its records clean at all. The SPLM/A is in fact one of the most notorious rebel movements to have arisen in the history of the African continent. We all know what this movement has inflicted several  atrocities  on the poor civilian populations in the south, especially so on the minor tribes. There were wide spread cases of looting, rape, maiming, torture and out right tribal bulling.

And to answer the question as to why the Ma’di people fled to Uganda while the Dinka Bor remained to occupy the Ma’diland, I guess that any person can see the answer vividly in the gentleman’s writing. The Dinka Bor first came to Ma’diland as IDPs, but soon when they were joined by the SPLA fighters who were predominantly from Bor, especially the high ranking officers, a state of anarchy was created and the Ma’di people were directly for first exposed to ruthless intimidations, bulling, mistreatment, rapes, and all kinds of inhuman behaviours which were practised by their self imposed guests who with the backing from their relatives and kinsmen in the ranks of the SPLM/A all of a sudden resorted to  using their AK 47 rifles against the host community.  

The Dinka Bor who were the direct perpetuators of the daily violence in the area as you can see were on the aggressing side, so  it was obvious that the Ma’di had to flee to Uganda as they could not match the Sudan Armed Forces nor the SPLM /A backed Dinka Bor IDPs who turned into invaders, and land grabs which continues up to today.

The author wants to deviate the public opinion from the crimes being committed in the Ma’diland by the notorious well armed and SPLM/backed IDPs. Are you really serious when you wondered as to why someone from Nimule would rather worry about his/her grabbed piece of land more than the delay in the north- south border? If you want to involve the entire south Sudan to participate in the border issue, then you must change the way you think. You are right to say that the internal and local problems have preoccupied most southerners from looking at bigger issues which involve the north – south relationship. But these people are indeed living an immediate threat be it from some stubborn IDPs, or neighbouring tribes. These are real concerns, and the simple fact that they are south- south conflicts doesn’t in any way make them less urgent. On the contrary the south – south conflicts must be given the priority such that they are immediately settled and by so doing we can liberate the southern minds to address national issues, be them borders demarcation issues, census or even the 2011 referendum.

One outstanding truth which must be said is that , there are some people out there who seems dissatisfied with resent leadership of  H.E Salva Kiir, and they want to disgrace  him, otherwise  why are the Dinka Bor insisting on illegal land acquisition and continuous resettlement in Ma’diland. The currently formed “Bor-weed” militias in the Ma’diland will be soon exposed like their counterparts the “janaweed” of Darfur.

If the Ma’di people can not enjoy the right to their ancestral land how can they talk of being an indigenous community in the African context? Land remains in the heart of most problems in the world. And as the Arabs are looking at the vast land in the south, unfortunately some wicked Southerners have also developed greed to lands traditionally not theirs. It is senseless when we are  having land disputes between tribes who do not share any common borders, what do you expect to happen in areas like Abyei where the  Dinka Ngok share immediate borders with the Missiriya , yet you expect the border demarcation to be an easy process.

All our problems whether they are to do with the border demarcations or Nimule can only be solved when there is the political will to do so. We can go on for ages writing about these issues, but as long as our leaders are benefiting from these unrests, then the civilian victims caught up in these conflicts will have no choice but to find out local ways for their daily survival in regardless of what national repercussions their actions may have

The more the land grapping by continuously un abated in the south and the Ma,di area in particular, the sooner  the south Sudan – Uganda border will become unsafe. The Ma’di would not want to see another Palestine evolving in their land, because as time goes these dodgy IDPs will soon come up with some religious verses from their local gods claiming undisputable rights over the whole of the Ma’diland.

So whosoever thinks that a united south Sudan is a prerequisite to the achievement of victory over the northern Islamic Arabs, must also distance themselves  from the Arab culture of colonisation, and the ill-conceived delusions of racial and tribal superiority. You can only solve the Ma’diland issues and the insecurity posed there by repatriating the IDPs to their various villages in the Jonglei State or otherwise a very serious problem is on the brew. It was overlooked in Rwanda for long when statements of hate were being released. The politicians heard it, but they hide their heads in the sand until the nation one day woke up in a spree of killings.

People of south Sudan! Many of the south – south concerns are just mere greed. We need to be contented with what God gave us be it children, wealth, land, education etc……… as Christians which many of us claim to be, the Ten Commandments are there to direct us.

On my side I will continue to write about all the south Sudan’s short comings and crimes committed new or old  including the Ma’diland issues with the ultimate goal of seeing justice done,  which will save us the Rwandan experience. Southerners who want to fight for a common goal should first fight for justice and equality to prevail over every inch of south Sudan. Let us face it now rather than defer it to 2011 or there after when the cost many become too much to bear.

The author is a south Sudanese doctor living in the UK, and can be reached at