Problems of Land, Tribes, Politics and Arms In Southern Sudan

However, I got relieved of this dilemma from the fact that when a member or some members of your ethnic group do something outrageous and you refrain from condemning their move (especially when you are their leader) then it is assumed that you are in agreement to what they have done. Please note that I am pointing my finger to bad elements from Dinka and not the good ones.

I recall a hot argument I had with a certain arrogant Jiëng man in 2006 in Wimpy (Nairobi) about history of Shilluk Kingdom and its borders with Dinka people. The man thought history starts at the middle but I told him that it should start at the roots for it to be called a comprehensive history of a people. We did not come up with anything fruitful from that discussion except threats of war because the man was so shallow about the history of his own community. I discovered that he knows history of Shilluk more than History of his own community. His argument was full of terms such as ‘Shilluk did this and that' but devoid of expression of ‘Dinka did this and that.' This is part of the problem of some Dinka with Shilluk in Upper Nile because the former community base their arguments on speculations and the former argue on historical facts backed by both oral and written statements.

According to historians like Darly Forde in his book the African Worlds (1954), the land of Shilluk is bordered by the following areas: Nuba Mountains, Kosti, Renk, Melut, Bayliët, Pangak and Pariang. Also it is known from some historical evidences that Shilluk land has been called Central District of Upper Nile Province with the following geographical boundaries drawn by non-Shilluk scribes without bias:

1)      On the Northern Front, the border is marked on the East bank of the Nile by a line drawn from the junction of 10^o 15^o north parallel with the Nile to the apex of the junction of 9^o 30^o latitude and 32^o 54^o longitude;

2)      On the Southern Front, the border is marked between Anakdyiär and Bangläy, then to Wünakir on Khor Fullus along the Sobat River, then to the mouth of Zeraf River entering into Lake No; and

3)      On the Western Front, the borders extend from Lake No and stretch along Kordofan/Upper Nile boundary northwards to 11^o north parallel.

In this article, I am trying to air my opinion for a second time about the issue of Community Land Ownership, Tribes, Politics and Arms in Southern Sudan. But this time my concern is focused on Upper Nile State (Dinka versus Shilluk) instead of Equatoria (Dinka versus Madi/Acholi/Zandi/Bari). My argument is still based on the thesis that "Community Land is a Fundamental Socio-Economic factor to be tempered with by outsiders," especially when a bunch of business and political liars tell an honourable community on its very own ancestral land to pack their things and leave (to I-do-not-know- where) because the time for their hosting is over and what remains is the time for their eviction by any means and using arms obtained from SPLA for this purpose.

As I wrote about the sensitivity of Community Land Ownership in my articles some months back out of my field research and study on "Land Tenure System in Southern Sudan" (see http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article26289), I still want to re-emphasize that ‘A Community Land is A Community Life.' If you take it away then you have taken away the life of that Community as well, and its members will not have a place to build their shelters and execute their socio-economic and political activities. And this does not go smoothly without blood-shed and other bitter consequences. If this could be the result, why then are some southerners comfortable to cook bloody troubles if you have a good hearts and sound minds for the love of beloved South Sudan!

It pains me to see brothers and sisters strangling each other on destructive tribal vendetta in Southern Sudan while the enemy keeps laughing as it warms up to eliminate them all after they have foolishly exhausted their energies. I hate to use the term ‘enemy' but there is no way to avoid the understanding that enmity is just one part of the badness of human beings that balances the other best part of their goodness. That is why you find in any family, clan, tribes or nation some bad individuals as well as some good ones. That is also the reason civilized nations came up with punitive laws to deter and neutralize the bad part of human beings from being actualized without justifiable reason for a greater common good. For example, some individuals get capital punishment or other shameful verdicts because of their weaknesses in allowing their evil part to control their behaviors and actions. On the other hand, some individuals are given noble Nobel Prices and other human honors because of their commitment to develop and promote the good part of humanity, and harmonizing their neighborhoods with dignity and decency. Why don't all Southerners try to choose nobility praxis instead of brutality in this virgin region!

To get to the point, I am seeing that the biggest tribe of Southern Sudan is getting immersed into unnecessary conflicts and troubles within itself and with its good neighbours (time after time) because of mixing up issues of land rights with those of tribal affiliations and insensitive politics of dominating greed. By drawing lessons from historical experiences of post Addis Ababa Agreement of 1972 and also from evaluating the post CPA of 2005, it has been constantly observed that some chaotic ‘Jiëng individuals' have made themselves spokesperson of this gigantic important tribe of Southern Sudan on several nasty occasions. (But this expression should not be interpreted as an endorsement of superiority of the Jiëng over other tribes because each tribes counts and is valuable and superior on its own right in Southern Sudan).

These Jiëng individuals have been uttering ‘rat-smelly' words and executing unethical actions without thinking of the dire consequences from the possible flash-back and retaliation by those who have been hurt and angered by them, especially in regard to unconstitutional land claims/occupations. They think that they have instant and easy access to AKs-47 from SPLA barracks and can terrorize any individual or a group that attempt to correct their detested voracious lifestyle. This bullying attitude has been going on in Equatoria States, Bahr El Gazal States, and Upper Nile States of Southern Sudan with impunities. Such die-hard devil agents are too short-sided to the extent of not learning from the dark histories of tribal conflicts in the virgin continent, Africa.

These bad members of Jiëng tribe have been using defense mechanism to cover their bad acts by arguing on the following bases:

1)      Jiëng have the right to occupy others' lands, get employed alone in government institutions, get university scholarships abroad alone, and embezzle public money in Southern Sudan because they died in big numbers during the SPLM/A war of struggle with Arabs (Jellaba) from the North (they call other Southerners traitors and inferior groups);

2)      Jiëng are Born-to-Rule and Downtrodden other Communities in Southern Sudan because they are the ‘Superior Masters' (Monyjur) for other tribes; and

3)      Jiëng have the right to invade and occupy lands of other communities because any land belongs to God and Monjur are the masters of all lands and can settle anywhere even on the graves and shrines of ancestors of other tribes because Jiëng are the majority in Southern Sudan.

However, these irresponsible habits do not surprise those who know the history of Jiëng. They do not have ancestral shrines and graves because they did not know to burry their own dead, leave alone other people they kill. Culture of burial is a recent history for the Jiëng, and this could be the reason why they do not feel ashamed to grab the land of other communities and displace them from their ancestral legacies, customs and traditions. Also the Jiëng history indicates that they were nomadic wanderers with a thinking pattern that every land is a No-Man-Land and can be occupied at whim for cattle grazing before the green grass get withered for their cows to chew, and before the available water get dried up or flood their temporary settlements. For them farming was just too hard a work to pursue because the harvest needs months of patience. Many Jiëng use to hate farming though many of their members have learn now from their neighbors that agriculture is the best strategy for food security.

In October 2008, irresponsible memos, press releases and appeals have been written (in classical Arabic language) and circulated by some Jiëng students, Chiefs and Politicians in Malakal (the capital town of Upper Nile State). The memos were written against Shilluk tribe, who are now the majority community in Upper Nile State. (Hereafter I will use the terms ‘Collo' instead of the colonially distorted term ‘Shilluk'). For instance, a group that identified itself to a ghost administrative territory called "Sobat County" (Malakal and Byliët) tried to divide Upper Nile State into fictitious Four Counties after wishfully abolishing the status of the current Counties that were endorsed by the late wise hero of CPA, Dr. John Garang de Mabior. I analyzed those documents critically and found out that they aim at the following baseless claims:

1)      Protest about Collo Ownership of Malakal and appeal to government to give the ownership to Jiëng before they use force and death on Collo to leave the town;

2)      Elimination  of Collo Villages along both sides of River Sobat and on the East Bank of River Nile and replacing them with Jiëng Villages;

3)      Relocation of some Constitutional Positions held by Collo Politicians in the Government (at National, Regional, State and County Levels) to Jiëng Politicians; and

4)       Abolishment of the current Counties of Upper Nile State and establishing new ones where the Nuer and Collo areas should be given one County each (with capitals at Nasir and Kodok respectively) and Dinka areas given Four Counties (with Capitals at Malakal, Akoko, Melut and Renk).

I took sometime to understand the roots of these unwarranted  claims of Jiëng for Collo land on Sobat River and East Bank of the Nile and came up with a conclusion that the core aim is to enable their opportunists in Upper Nile State to assume legislative and executive political positions with a short-cut from the adjusted Counties' representation. This aim came out clearly from a letter of appeal signed by Thon Wäy Awin, a Paramount Chief from Akoko who claim to be responsible for Dongjol and Ngok Clans of Jiëng. The appeal was addressed to H.E. Gatlwak Deng Garang, the Governor of Upper Nile State who is a NCP cadre and a SAF general from Jiëng origin. The Governor's name suggests that his parents are from Bor Community in Jonglei State but migrated to Nasir for one reason or another. This Chief expressed a total confidence in the NCP leadership of H.E. the Governor and praised him very much for trying to rejuvenate Arabization and Islamization project of the Salvation Revolution Regime (Surat al-ingaz) in Upper Nile State. He narrated to him how he traveled to Juba with some of his tribesmen and met Dr. Riek Machar who promised them to grant their demands but nothing got materialized so far. That is, the Ownership of Malakal has not been granted to Jiëng, Collo have not been ordered to evacuate their villages along river Sobat (where the village of Hon. Dr. Lam Akol and Hon. Oyay Deng Ajak and the maternal uncles of Hon. Pagan Amum is located), the current counties have not been abolished and replaced with Jiëng counties, and Collo constitutional holders have not been dismissed to replace them with Jiëng constitutional holders.

Thus, the honorable Chief is disappointed with the SPLM because of not responding to their demands quickly. But he is very happy and confident in the NCP because he thinks this party will grant their demands. He accused Collo political leaders for the insecurity in Upper Nile State and for blocking the development which is being carried out by H.E. Gatlwak Deng, the Jellab agent in Upper Nile State. 

The Akoko's Paramount Chief tried very hard to pursue the Governor to take action for their demand on a mythical assertion that some Jiëng Chiefs and Elders (like Ayongdit, Awandit, and Ajakdit) know some secret demarcating marks at the middle of the Nile, which indicate the border between Collo land and Jiëng land. He did not specify where these sign are located, who put them there and why they are secret to be known only by certain Jiëng elsers without the knowledge of Collo elders. He forgot that mythical answers have been left to the archives of ancient legendaries because they cannot amuse the generation of the scientific age who base their arguments on facts only.

It is known that mythologies require sensible interpretation from sages and magicians; otherwise they are useless for backing a case of borders demarcation between communities in the highly advanced technological globalization era. Let this ignorant Jiëng Paramount Chief of Dongjol and Ngok Clans know that the UN Secretary-General Envoy to Sudan presented (on 19^th October) to Sudanese government a Satellite Imagery Instrument to be used by the Ad hoc Technical Border Demarcation Committee for locating the geographic coordinates of borders positioning on the ground. Without doubt,  this instrument will be used later to demarcate the borders between Collo and Jiëng lands after the maps are obtained from British and Egyptian Libraries and from Historical Archives on administrative boundaries of the tribes of Southern Sudan. Only little patience is required here because the demarcation of the borders between the South and the North is the priority to any internal demarcation.

I remember the same group of Jiëng in Greater Upper Nile Conference in Panyigor in 2003 and in Governance Clusters Meetings in Rumbek in 2005 calling Dr. Garang bad names and giving him certificate of traitor-ship on Jiëng interests when he approved the present Four Counties in the Collo Kingdom (Manyo, Fashoda, Makal and Panyikang) and issued a decree of appointing their commissioners in 2004. Dr. Garang did this good work with Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin and in consultation with His Majesty, Räth Kwongo Dak Padiet. His Majesty was satisfied and happy with the proposal of Dr. Lam and endorsement of Dr. Garang, which honored the traditional boundaries of Collo Chieftaincies (Omodiate) and grouped ‘two-to-three' of these Omodiat to qualify for a County in terms of population and geographical size.

Instead of emulating what Dr. Lam did by giving the Collo Kingdom its due representation through its deserved Counties and by not making his home village (Panyidawäy or call it Deleib Hill) a County or a Capital of a County, these Jiëng opportunists came out to envy and condemn the fought rights of the Collo Kingdom to participate in government and development decentralization in Southern Sudan. I am pretty sure that no single Collo politician or Chief has stopped these Jiëng of Padang, Dongjol and Ngok clans from tabling their own demands for Counties from the relevant decision-makers of Southern Sudan if they can prove that their population size and geographical territory qualified them for more counties (if at all the government Counties are given out according to clannish demands).

It is not good and not right from these Jiëng to push for their desire in the expense of historical Collo territorial lands on both banks of Sobat and Nile rivers. Histories of Jiëng and Collo are not very ancient for them to be speculated fictitiously and mythically by some moronic and dishonest fellows who do not foresee the consequences of cooking conflicts and troubles in the beloved Southern Sudan. I know that these morons will hate to eat the evils that they have been boiling when the pots have reached the uncontrollable brims. I know that it is the innocent people who often become the victims of the poisons of such bad habits. The devil agents always escape in good shape!

Collo are known by communities of Southern Sudan to be decent and patient community who only decide to act swiftly after a strategic deliberation. The Jiëng of Padang and Dongjol know Collo very well and should get reminded (if they have forgotten) of the consequences of Collo answers to those who temper with their historical land. It is not a wise idea to repeat bad history, especially when it is still a recent history of few decades back. Let the Jiëng trouble-cookers and opportunists recall the consequences of their similar attempts to destabilize and displace Collo from their own ancestral lands in 1970s and 1980s. The sons of Collo daughters who were married by the these Jiëng neighbours should enlighten their bad members who are ignorant about Collo Culture and ‘Land Tenure,' which is attached to their sacred reverence for the Nile, Sobat and Lol rivers. Let them tell their people that Collo do not use these rivers only for drinking, fishing, irrigation, gardening, building, or transportation but they are also sentimentally connected to these rivers spiritually. For example, Coronation of Collo King is connected to some mysteries attached to these rivers. Also let them know it that the mother of the historically known fierce Collo warrior, Dak the son of Nyikang who founded the Collo Kingdom is mythically connected to these rivers too. The Collo called this short woman "Nyikay Nya Kiir or Apwöth Nya Nam"- i.e., Nyikay the daughter of the river (‘Kiir' refers to any big river in Collo language, e.g., they call the Sea ‘Kiir Omel,' meaning River of Salt). Let these Collo nephews not mistranslate and distort the Collo term of ‘Log-jiäng' (meaning the reserved land for resting on the other side of the river) to Log-jäng (meaning the other side of rive where Jiëng live).

What I want to recommend to all the tribal Communities of Southern Sudan is to be patient and non-violent in resolving their conflicts of rights and interests. For example, if any Community or individuals thinks that they have been denied their land ownership and tribal settlement, let them present their case amicably to legal arbitrators in a logical and factual manner. Let them have the confidence that the truth shall always come up forcefully and victoriously even if suspended temporarily by dishonest fellows (including some tribal chiefs and political leaders) who want to sink Southern Sudan into the abyss of conflicts and chaos of insincere business investment and hooligan politics.

History of lands and Communities of Southern Sudan is not so ancient enough to trace out where justice belongs to in terms of Who-owns-which-land (including natural rivers, tributaries, swamps, forests, mountains, etc). It is known that history writes itself and nothing can be changed about it except to record and memorize it as it is. At this critical cross-road to independence, real patriotic Southerners do not need to sharpen their spears, machetes and arrows nor do they need to smuggle AKs-47 from SPLA barracks to point them blindly and outragedly at each other with irreparable regrets. Let politicians of Southern Sudan not ignore the advice of the great sage and statesman of Africa, the late former President of Tanzania (Julius Nyerere) who cautioned when he visited Juba in 1974 that Southerners should learn how to be patient and tolerant with each other in managing their differences and hot issues, else they may lose the greatest value of South Sudan and the dignity of its pure African communities in a cheaper manner.

Even if some community in Southern Sudan believes to have been "Born-to-Rule" they should know that the acceptable ‘leadership' is the one whose legitimacy is limited by the consent of the governed and by being the servant of the people instead of their master. Politics that is based on force, intimidation and humiliation of the other shall not thrive for longer because these ‘other minorities' are also Born-to-Resist-and-Retaliate against their victimizers. Even if you believe to have been Born-to-Rule, at least you should be prudent to figure out ‘Who-to-rule', ‘When-to-rule' and ‘Where-to-rule' so that you avoid disappointing the people to the point of hatred and rejection. So far in the South now, the name of Dinka has become spoiled not because this honorable tribe is evil by itself, but because some of its members have been insensitive to respect others who have lived and struggled alongside with them during and in the continuous war of liberation and independence of South Sudan from the North.

Sometimes I feel uneasy to air my opinion about my tribe because some people are very fast in concluding that such and such is a tribalist. But I remember Thales, an ancient Greek philosopher who was mocked by a slave girl who saw him falling into a well when walking and studying the movement of stars in the sky. He became known as absent-minded professor who insisted and persisted that all material things in the physical world are made of WATER (vapour, liquid and solid form) because water is the first material principle of all life. I do not want to ignore the Dinka threats against Collo because of their strategic settlement near natural water in Doleib Hill and other areas of the Kingdom. If my mother, father, sisters, brothers, cousins, relatives and all Collo and their friends are evicted by Jiëng in Anakdiär, Odwar, Ogod, Pa-jur, Pa-thwor, Adhidhyiang, Pa-nyidwäy, Obay, Pa-kwar, Atar and etc, then surely I will find myself fallen in a well-of-land-occupation while busy analyzing politics at the highest level and protecting the CPA from Jellaba's sabotage. This should be the feeling of any highest Collo politicians in any political party or military institution, especially those who hails from the threatened villages and centers.

As a conclusion to this article, I urge Peace Commission and also Land Commission of Southern Sudan to arrange for a Land Border Conference by next year, 2009 between the Collo, Jiëng, and Naath (Nuer) Tribes in Upper Nile State who share borders and have been intermarrying for decades. Let this conference bring in well-informed and non-politicized oral sages from these communities and also foreign historian or anthropologists who have written some facts about these communities. This conference may help in creation and sustainability of harmony and peace between these important tribes of Upper Nile State. It may identify a way forward for resolving the claims over land borders and land ownership. This conference may also be an enlightening occasion for discovering the chaotic liars and opportunists who want to magnify small tribal differences and use these for gaining political aims.

Deare God help me not be an instigator for trivial tribal vendettas in Southern Sudan but also help me not to ignore the criticality of land ownership and threats of eviction of my own people from their own Bomas, Payams, and Counties. May God bless all the Communities of Southern Sudan with harmony and respect for each other!

James Okuk is a concerned Southerner and a Ph.D student in the University of Nairobi. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..