“Our struggle is to deliver the promise of the liberation struggle betrayed by the SPLM Aristocracy,”- Mabior Garang

August 27, 2020

By Ajong Mbapndah L

Cpt. Mabior Garang de Mabior says there is a now a movement for the second liberation of Southern Sudan following the betrayal of the liberation struggle by the ruling SPLM Aristocracy. Speaking in an interview with Pan African Visions, the Chairperson of the National Committee for Information and Public Relations of SPLM/SPLA (IO) says while the dead of the historic leader of the struggle Dr John Garang was still shrouded in mystery, what is certain is that the SPLM aristocracy killed his vision for South Sudan.

“There is no future for the peoples of South Sudan in the model of nation building adopted by those at the helm of the first Republic of South Sudan,” says Mabior Garang who resigned as Deputy Minister of Interior in the revitalized peace government .

The assertion that President Salva Kiir and Dr. Riek Machar are working together is a fallacy, and the notion that the two leading protagonists  working together is a panacea for South Sudan's ills is naiveté at best, says Mabior Garang .

“The future for the civil population of South Sudan is in the promulgation of a second Republic of South Sudan – for the welfare and prosperity of our peoples,” Mabior says on the way forward for his country.

Mabior Garang, thanks for accepting to grant this interview to discuss perspectives on your country South Sudan, can you start by summing up how the country is faring economically, socially, and politically?

The answer to this question is so broad it would require to be written in a book. I have written extensively on the socio -political and socio-economic challenges facing the nascent Republic of South Sudan in my Blog . I shall try to be brief for the purposes of this interview.

To be blunt, we have no economy.  If there is no production worth talking about in the country and if there is no trade, then how can we say we have an economic system? The Central Bank has declared that they have run out of foreign exchange reserves - our national coffers have been looted by cartels who have scuttled our economy. The economic system in South Sudan can best be described as a “black market” on a national scale. In fact,the “black market" USD rate is announced officially by the Central Bank, who also admit that the commercial banks have their own rate. This admission by bank officials shows there is really nobody in charge. When it comes to the society, we are also in trouble. Apart from the negative effects the slave trade and subsequent colonization had on our societies, our people are still dealing with the negative effects of war. The school of economics teaches that an economic system is also a social system. This means if we have no economic system, there will be no social system. The intolerable status quo in the first Republic of South Sudan is characterized by rampant intercommunal violence in all the major regions of the country; Bahr-el-Gazal, Equatoria and Upper Nile. This violence is no longer confined to the rural areas. It has now reached the towns with individuals being gunned down in cold blood in cycles of revenge killings even in the capital Juba.

The unity government may have declared that there is a “Ceasefire” and they have “forgiven themselves”. However, the sad reality is that conflict has not ended. Not only is there war between communities, there is also war between communities’ civil defence forces and the army, as recently reported in Tonj County by the VoA. The lack of an economic system has turned politics into an industry where so-called eminent persons peddle influence in Juba to be rewarded with the trappings of power.

The result of this mischief has been a system of political tribalism which has led to insecurity becoming normalized in our society. The suffering of our people is portrayed by so-called eminent persons in positions of responsibility, as “our culture".

This is mischief!

There is no future for the peoples of South Sudan in the model of nation building adopted by those at the helm of the first Republic of South Sudan. The Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) is the only hope and the least costly way our citizens can engage in non-violent action which can bring about fundamental change in our society. There are provisions in the Agreement which address the immediate challenges facing the Republic of South Sudan.

It is unfortunate that the traditional elite in Juba have opted to prioritize the power sharing component of the Agreement instead of the economic and humanitarian components. It is now 180 plus days after the partial formation of the unity government and we are still bogged down arguing about who will be the Governor and who will be the Commissioner. There is still no legitimate Legislature and the Judiciary is still in shambles. Over half of our population are in the Diaspora in the western world, refugees in neighbouring countries or internally displaced in Protection of Civilians Camps (PoC). While the other half find themselves sheltering in the deep rural areas of our country or facing abject poverty in the towns. The Agreement is not being implemented. Instead, the regime has co-opted a great number of the opposition leaders who are now colluding with the regime to undermine the Agreement and maintain the unbearable status quo in our country which has prevailed since the days of the slave trade and colonization.

If implemented, the Agreement has within it radical reforms which would transform our country for the better. The future of our country and the only way forward for South Sudan is to implement the Agreement in good faith. The future for the civil population of South Sudan is in the promulgation of a second Republic of South Sudan – for the welfare and prosperity of our peoples. There is a mechanism for this in Chapter VI: Parameters for Permanent Constitution.

The struggle continues!

How is the country coping with coronavirus pandemic, how robust has the response from the Kiir government been?

There is no way of gauging what the response to Covid 19 has been in South Sudan. I am no longer in the system so I would not be able to give you any accurate data. I can only share what I have observed personally and what my opinion is.

There was a Covid 19 Task Force set up and chaired by the President while being deputized by the First Vice President (FVP). Initially, there was an attempt to keep up with the advisories from the World Health Organization (WHO) and regional protocols. I am not sure what happened, but today we have stopped hearing any briefings from this taskforce.

After the FVP and several senior officials including members of the taskforce contracted Covid 19, the responsibilities of the taskforce were reassigned to one of the other five Vice Presidents (VP). This VP also contracted Covid and the other VPs have since shied away from taking up this responsibility. We hear of money from the World Bank and the IMF for Covid 19 prevention and relief, but we don’t see any work being done.

When I was the Deputy Minister for Interior, I personally submitted a proposal to the Minister of Interior, the FVP and to the President, with a strategy on how to confront the pandemic in our country, but it fell on deaf ears. I cited this as one of the reasons for my resignation from the so-called unity government. The regime in Juba does not value the lives of our citizens. If the government massacred thousands of its own citizens in 2013 as reported by the African Union (AU) Commission of Inquiry for South Sudan, what gives us the clue that they would care about those dying from the non-handling of the pandemic? If they are still slaughtering our citizens in 2020 as they are doing in Tonj as reported by the VoA, what gives us the idea that they would care about the same people when they are killed by Covid 19?

The pandemic is their ally, as it were.

After intense fighting and multiple rounds of negotiations, President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar are working together again, what has changed for South Sudan?

The situation has changed but for the worse. The assertion that President Salva Kiir and Dr. Riek Machar are working together is a fallacy. The FVP – Dr. Riek Machar – is in fact still a prisoner of the state (through the state being a member of the mediation team). He is still not allowed to move freely, address the media or hold political rallies. He is still under serious restrictions.

The current negotiated settlement we are struggling to implement has been reached with great difficulty. The Agreement was negotiated with the President as a party to the conflict, while being a member of the mediation forum.

This is mischief!

This contradiction has continued into the implementation phase and threatens to unravel the little progress which has been made. The regime has never faced punitive measures for their perennial violations of the Agreement. This has resulted in the incumbent flouting the peace process with impunity.

The unbearable status quo which has prevailed since the days of the slave trade and colonization continues. It could even be argued that our peoples have never been more divided and dependant. The principle of Self-Determination which gave us independence, has been betrayed.

It’s these sort of questions that embolden the hardliners and intellectual mercenaries of the regime. The peace process should not be hinged on whether President Salva Kiir and FVP Dr. Riek Machar can work together. This is a terrible judgement for the peoples of South Sudan. The onus is on the incumbent to show they are serious about implementing the negotiated settlement since they are the ones with state power.

There is not much Dr. Riek Machar can do except come to Juba to do his part in the implementation of the Agreement. Not only has Dr. Riek and the SPLM/SPLA (IO) done this, our entire political leadership went to Juba without security so as to fast-track implementation. It is unfortunate that the regime perceived this as a weakness and after having co-opted the un-armed opposition groups, they have now moved to dismantling the Agreement by voting in the Presidency. This is in blatant violation of the Agreement.

In order for one to understand the failure of the traditional elite – on either side of the political divide – ­to work with Dr. Riek Machar, one must become familiar with what I call the “Riek Machar Factor” .

This in my opinion, is one of the major root causes for the current conflict and it is the reason peace remains elusive.

You were one of those offered a cabinet position, but you declined, first, how was your working experience and secondly, what prompted you to resign?

I have enumerated my reasons for resigning from the so-called unity government in my resignation letter.

There is no Agreement being implemented in Juba. The traditional elite have prioritized Chapter I: Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGONU). They have in turn neglected the provisions of the Agreement which deal with the radical reforms which are a necessary foundation of a state. I was not in the struggle for the trappings of power. We want real power so that we can end the status quo, which is characterized by random and wholesale killing of our citizens.

I have not, however, resigned from the party – the SPLM/SPLA (IO). I am still the National Chairperson for Information and Public Relations. There are many opposition leaders who have been left out by the Agreement. These revolutionary forces shall continue the struggle. Through non-violent action, we intend to persuade the regime that a second Republic of South Sudan is the only way forward and the Agreement is the least costly way to achieve this.

Many thought that the fighting in South Sudan was as a result of the fighting between those loyal to President Kiir, and those loyal to Rick Machar, why do we keep getting reports of fighting and killings in many parts of the country when the main protagonists are now working together?

The notion that peace will come because President Salva Kiir and FVP Riek Machar are working together is a panacea for South Sudan's ills, it is naiveté at best. Historically, wars have been fought for economic reasons. The historic SPLM/SPLA, the party of the Liberation, failed to deliver the promise of the struggles – the vision of new Sudan. This was a forward looking Pan-African vision based on liberation and Self-Determination.

The people of South Sudan are not merely fighting because the idea was abandoned, but because they suffer the consequences of this loss of vision. The traditional elite have deliberately instituted this system or lack thereof. The inter-communal violence in our land is a deliberate counter-insurgency tactic of the regime meant to keep the people divided so that they can maintain the status quo. The power elite in Juba are able to foment inter-communal violence because of the lack of a credible criminal justice system in the country.

What manifests as inter-communal clashes could be avoided if the radical reforms in the Agreement are implemented. However, as things stand, there is no justice system for aggrieved individuals or communities to turn to. This scenario ultimately leads to vigilantism. The power elite in Juba, who are the beneficiaries of the resulting confusion, do nothing to arrest the situation. They instead defend it as our culture.

The people of South Sudan are not fighting for President Salva Kiir to leave power per se. If President Salva Kiir returned to the vision today and took his job seriously and ended the hostilities against his own people, we would have no issue with him. We don’t have a personal problem with President Salva Kiir, our problem is with the system over which he presides. We are also not fighting to make Dr. Riek Machar the President. Our struggle is to deliver the promise of the liberation struggle which has been betrayed by the SPLM Aristocracy. I explain this extensively in “The SPLM Factor" .

You joined the government as part of the Machar team, but while you are out, Machar and others including his wife Angelina Teny and your mother Rebecca Garang are still in government, is this the beginning of a new more independent political path for you?

No, not at all!

I have always been independent. I was opposing the regime before 2013 when Dr. Riek Machar was VP and Mama Rebecca was a Minister of Roads and then Presidential Advisor. It only appears like the “independent path” is new, but it has always been so. I can see why the public may have perceived me to be a mere follower. So I am glad that that is how the cookie crumbled, as it were.

I am still in what you call “the Riek Machar Camp". It is a political organisation, not the property of Dr. Riek Machar. I personally disagree with our leadership’s decision to go to Juba without security arrangements and as a minority view at the time, I registered my disapproval. I nonetheless have accepted the majority’s decision and I even went to Juba briefly to discuss the future of our party with our Chairman.

If Mabior Garang was President of South Sudan, how will he run the country differently from what we see now, what concrete steps or measures will you have in place to ensure that South Sudanese enjoy the fruits of independence and freedom they fought so hard for?

I would not like to deal with counter factual history. Nevertheless, it suffices to say that I would do what any sensible person would do. The SPLM/SPLA did not fall from the sky. The Movement administered a greater geographical space called the new Sudan during the war of liberation and provided more services to our people then than they do today as a government. The Movement had several projects with which we planned to develop South Sudan and transition from war to peace. These projects were deliberately abandoned. One such project was the SPLM Strategic Framework for War to Peace Transition .

In addition to this, there is a peace Agreement which if implemented, could transform South Sudan within the next four years from emergency relief status to economic development and prosperity. I don’t like the way the question is framed though, as it reduces the problems of the country to that of personalities. It does not matter how many eminent persons are plugged into positions of power; if they have no work plan, they will achieve nothing. Peace remains elusive not because we have failed to find a person eminent enough, but because we have abandoned our principles, vision and objectives. If anyone came and steered things in the right direction, South Sudan would get back on the right track.

The question that many keep asking is where did South Sudan go wrong, what happened to the vision of Dr John Garang that triggered people embark on a historic struggle that resulted in independence, that seems to have brought more pain, in contrast to great expectations people had?

Again, I would not like to speculate. I believe such a question in these critical times is a distraction. I would rather remain focused on what will extricate our country from the quagmire we have driven it into. The late Dr. John Garang died with – apart from the Ugandan pilot and crew – only five bodyguards. The rest of the SPLM leadership was left intact and all the programs were in the National Secretariat. I think the question is better directed to the SPLM Aristocracy.

There are many conspiracy theories about what happened. I would not like to get into magical thinking and talk about things we have no evidence for. We can, however, speak on what we do know. After the mysterious demise of our founding Chairman and Commander in Chief – Dr. John Garang de Mabior – did we continue with the vision? The answer is no. We cannot say that John Garang was killed by the SPLM Aristocracy; we can however, confidently say that they killed his vision. This is why I have held the view since 2012 when I broke my silence, that a posthumous coup had taken place. There is now a Movement for a second liberation.

The struggle continues!

What do you make of the role played by the International community in seeking solutions to the crisis in South Sudan, what more could be done to help the country?

I cannot say much about this because this is the realm of international politics and diplomacy. All countries have their national interest and they act accordingly. If we, the leaders of South Sudan don’t care about our own citizens and our own country, we cannot expect others to care more. They say, “a fool and his gold are soon parted".

The international community and the region in particular have done all that they can within the constraints of international relations and diplomacy. It is difficult for the world to move when the region does not move. The region in turn, cannot move unless South Sudanese leaders move and it is unfortunate that the leaders of South Sudan are comfortable with the status quo. So things are likely to remain like this for some time.

Almost everything has been tried. Still, there is something which has not been tried – punitive measures for anyone who violates the Agreement. As it currently stands, it is only the SPLM/SPLA (IO) which has faced punitive measures. Our Chairman and Commander in Chief remains a prisoner of the mediation even after being sworn in as the FVP.

This is mischief!

As someone who lived through the struggle for the independence of South Sudan and currently living the realities of an independent Southern Sudan, what lessons or advise can you offer others in the continent like the people of Southern Cameroons fighting for the restoration of their statehood?

This is a great question. The failure of the first Republic of South Sudan  barely two years after attaining independence should be a teachable moment, not only for the marginalised peoples of the Southern Cameroons, but for any individual or organisation which may confuse “secession" with self-determination. The tragedy of the independence of the Republic of South Sudan is our failure to learn from the mistakes other African countries made at their independence.

The peoples of the South Sudan even had the experience of the old Sudan – out of which our nascent Republic was carved – to draw from.  The peoples of the Southern Cameroons have the right to Self-Determination like any other peoples. It is through this principle that African nations attained their independence. Even so, this is not ensured by secession or flag independence. If the Southern Cameroons became an independent state, new contradictions would emerge. New power relationships between the new regions of the nascent Republic would create new oppressors and oppressed peoples

If independence is seen by the elite in the society as an opportunity for them to have their own pie in Buea because they feel cheated in the division of the national pie in Yaoundé, then Cameroon will be divided until each is a Republican in his/her own living room. In his research, Prof. Cheikh Anta Diop has proven the cultural unity of African peoples. How much more related then are the peoples of Greater Cameroon? The balkanization of our continent is not in the best interest of African peoples. It is better for us to struggle for the right of Self-Determination within the context of the cultural unity of our peoples.

This is ultimately the right and decision of the peoples of the Southern Cameroons. I also know from the experience of South Sudan, that sometimes secessionist sentiments gain such traction that nothing can stop its advance. The independence of South Sudan despite being detrimental to her citizens in the end, was the aspiration of our peoples. In this kind of situation, revolutionary cadres in both countries must continue the struggle for the unity of our peoples in the future.

If the principle of Self-Determination is not understood within the context of the unity of our peoples through Federalism, then our marginalised peoples across the continent will continue to be bamboozled by the power elite through political tribalism. In the end – like in South Sudan – the principle of Self-Determination was used to undermine Self-Determination itself. The traditional elite in Yaoundé and the traditional elite in Buea could agree to an independent Republic of the Southern Cameroons which would not benefit the ordinary citizens of the Greater Cameroon. I am not saying this is going to happen but this is our experience in the first Republic of South Sudan. After our hard won freedom, we find ourselves embroiled in a second liberation struggle for a second Republic of South Sudan. The revolutionary intellectuals of the Greater Cameroon must be vigilant against the mischief of the power elite whose interests may not be in line with the welfare and prosperity of the civil population but in their own vested interest.

Last question Mr Mabior, you have taken serious to writing with a new website Mabior Garang speaks, may we know the logic behind this and any insight on your future political plans?

I have been writing since I was a youth. I have a lot of writing I left behind when I was forced to return to bury my father in 2005. I never took the writing seriously before 2019 though. I have done several interviews for Pan African Visions and they are on my blog under “Print Interviews”.

 I have been – and I still am – the National Chairperson for Information and Public Relations for the SPLM/SPLA (IO) and the official Spokesperson. I have stored all the Press Releases in a category called, “Archives of the Struggle’.

So I have constantly been writing, only that I am more deliberate and aware of the impact it is having.

In January of 2019 I started writing on a weekly basis. I felt like there was not enough information reaching the public. This prompted me to start a segment called “Public Service Announcement”, to inform the public about their civic duties and responsibilities.

The socio-economic baseline from which we must start development in South Sudan is mind bending and our society needs basic civic education which is taken for granted in other countries. The writing evolved from there. Initially, people complained about the length of the articles and so I have been guided by my growing audience in the development of this brand. I reduced the length and also started writing daily and then weekly on current events

I started writing so profusely initially because there was a media blackout on the SPLM/SPLA (IO) after the violent collapse of the first Agreement in the now infamous J1-Dogfight. I was not aware that my writing had been having a positive impact on so many citizens, nor was I aware of how hard it was hitting the regime. I just felt like I was fulfilling my civic responsibilities as a South Sudanese citizen. I was doing my small part.

In January 2019 there was a spike in my writing because there was an attempt by the regime to portray me to the public as a lunatic. This interestingly, coincided with a debilitating affliction which paralysed my left side. I went blind and deaf, and couldn’t even walk. I was basically on my deathbed. In that moment, I prayed that I should be left with just enough strength to continue the work of my people who continue to be marginalised after winning independence. My prayer was answered and I was able to continue writing. The doctors still don’t know what I was suffering from, there was no virus. In the end they said they could not rule out poisoning.

I am thankful to the Ancestors and the Almighty that my prayer was heard. I started to recover my sight after three weeks of blindness. In a dramatic twist of life, my blindness was a blessing in disguise. In the weeks I lost my sight and was not able to write, I received so many calls from people who had been reading my writings on a weekly basis and had suddenly been deprived. They did not know I was on the verge of death. To this day many people do not know I have been fighting for my life for the last two years. I never stopped my contributions to the struggle, not even when I was admitted in hospital. I was working from my hospital bed, so it was difficult for the public to know.

I am happy to report that after using Smai Tawi – ancient African Yoga - I can now walk straight, I can see. Basically, I am on the path to a full recovery. There is no concrete evidence that I was poisoned, so I have never talked about it publicly. This is the first time I have mentioned it. I like to be solution oriented as dwelling on the past will not take me forward.  Like I have mentioned above, it was a blessing in disguise because I was able to see something when I went blind which I would not have seen with 20/20 vision. Actually, I am stronger now than before I was afflicted.

I have no personal political ambitions which are not related to the welfare and prosperity of African peoples. I intend to use this brand I have created to share my knowledge and experience in the struggle with the youth. I want to use it as a platform to promote and educate a generation. I will be giving a platform to the marginalised intellectuals who have been blocked out by the pseudo-intellectuals in our land. These are the intellectual mercenaries of the new oppressive regimes.

I believe that we have tried solving our problems in Africa through politics for long enough. The generations which came before us have done their part and given us the independent countries we have today in Africa. This is a great achievement. The liberation, on the other hand, is not complete. The promise of the liberation struggle is yet to be fulfilled, it has even been betrayed.

The objective of www.mabiorgaarangspeaks.com is to be the catalyst to a national conversation. This stems from my belief that Africa's problems cannot be solved through cults of personality. It is only through inclusivity and the participatory approach that we will be able to come up with solutions which are relevant to our civil population. It is out of such an inclusive public discussion that we may be able to find credible lasting solutions to Africa's problems. After attaining statehood through the exercise of the principle of Self-Determination, we must now enter the next phase of our liberation as African peoples.

The next phase of struggle for the liberation of our peoples will not be won in the political arena. The struggle of many opposition groups across the continent has merely been to replace the individuals in power instead of the intolerable status quo which lingers on from colonial days. Any opposition group on the African continent which purports to be fighting for the welfare and prosperity of our peoples and does not prioritize education, are aspiring oppressors. There isn’t one person on the continent who has the answer to the problems plaguing our societies.

This is mischief!

We will not solve our problems by changing the politicians in our respective countries. The politicians arise out of a society. If we address political issues without paying attention to the social, we will be back to square one after every election. If we are able to restore our African values, criminalized during the days of the slave trade and colonization, the politics will fix itself almost as if by magic. The blog is my small part in this enterprise.