Dr. Lam Above Collo Kingdom: Bad Title and Distortion of Truth from Simon

Reply from/ By James Okuk

The article posted (in Arabic language) by Mr. Simon O. Nyiker on Pachodo.org Website on 30^th April 2008 carries a bad title, leave alone the content. The article runs disjointedly from SPLM\A problems, to Sudan government, to Collo Kingdom, to law enforcement, to Upper Nile State governor, to police authorities, to courts, to Dr. Lam Akol, and to etc....

The author catches anything even what he cannot holds, out of hatred and a designed message that tries to tell the readers that Dr. Lam is a Devil and his rivals are Angels; Impossibility!

I totally agree with the conclusion of Mr. Simon’s article that Upper Nile State Government and GoSS must ensure that the law has been enforced to take its right course by not allowing anyone to be above it whatsoever his status. This is a right and a good statement from a civilized citizen, but………

However, what I dislike and disagree with in the same article is the too many false, wrong and bad premises (justification) used by Mr. Simon to appeal to emotions and fictional imaginational of the readers. He is forgetting that those readers are intellectual beings who know the truth, and who filters it out from distortions. No doubt that this mismatch stems from Simon’s disjointed ideas and misinformation, especially his bad questions which are divorced from the truth that is known about law enforcement and procedures:  he thinks that Warranty of Arrest is issued after the accused has been convicted in the court, he thinks that the accused has to be arrested only in day time, he thinks that the police who execute the Warranty have to use a police car, etc. What ignorance on law procedures and what a shame against the exalted law.

Mr. Simon is wrong in saying that Dr. Lam has been confronting our dear King, Kwongo Dak Padiet. Dr. Lam has not done this even once as far as I know him because he respects our King. In addition, he has a friendly history with Reth Kwongo since their school days; it is only the enemies of truth like Simon O. Niker who are wishing Dr. Lam to get into conflict with Reth Kwongo.  Dr. Lam did not forge any document in the King’s name, neither had he complained to the SPLM/A that he was marginalized. Instead, it is the enemies of truth and evil-hearted people who have been saying so.

In 2004, the Office of Nyajowk in Khartoum, under chairmanship of Dr. Yunas de Maniel, presented a document to Dr. John Garang where the issue of marginalization of Dr. Lam appeared in one of its points. It was not even a priority complaint because the document was talking mainly on borders of the Collo land against the invading claims of the Dinka and Nuer. The other document was presented in the same year by Dr. Charles Odhok (nicknamed as Nyayarngur) to Dr. Garang in Naivasha during the CPA negotiations Also in one of the points here the issue of marginalization of Dr. Lam appeared though the document was mainly about Collo power sharing in the government at all levels – Dr. Charles was the distributor in the name of Collo people without even a mandate from the King like the case of the previous office if at all His mandate has to be sought in political appointments. Charles’s motive was clear from his famous saying of “ya dwata luny ki nang cinga nimi Dr. Walter Kunijwok ki Dr. Lam”, that is, “I want to leak my hands too from the privileges of power like Dr. Kunijwok and Dr. Lam.” (Indeed he has leaked his hand from Public money in Malakal and ended up in the corruptists fate). Those who have come across these two documents can attest that Dr. Lam was not among the signatories in it. Now, where did he use the Collo Kingdom here for his political interest? Let us put the truth into its proper place and never distort it by lies.

Democratic transformation which is becoming a must in the modern world is so much connected with the grass-roots participation in politics. Dr. Lam is one of the few politicians within the SPLM who has attempted to promote this quest. He did not regret to part with Dr. Garang in 1991 because he rightly chose to respect democratic value more than the personality cult. His challenge made Dr. Garang to change his attitude and reform the SPLM/A by establishing Civil Authority of New Sudan (CANS); a credit which is never acknowledged by the enemies of truth. Also SPLM is not Southern Sudan because Southern Sudan was there before SPLM was born in 1983 and will always be there even if SPLM disappears. So Simon’s prophesy of doom is baseless.

It is a known wisdom that a politician will always be a real politician when he has supporters, especially from the grass-roots.  A politician who hangs in the air is never reliable because he does not understand the problem of the people at the lower level and can never be a good help to them. Dr. Lam has understood this wisdom well and he has been working according to it. He did something good for the people of Malakal (built the river port, big meeting hall, rest house, and the current HQ of Makal County) because of this wisdom. Even when he was the Foreign Minister he did not stop visiting the grass-roots from time to time in spite of his busy time with international issues.

Dr. Lam loves the grass-roots and he is never a drunkard or a liar in the expense of the grass-roots.  He knows very well that his roots lie in the Collo Land and People. Not only this, but it is also his right as a politician. That is why he does not compromise with anybody who attempts to deter him or detach him from his roots like Chief Oyath and his cronies who hate to see him talking with the people in Collo villages.

What happened between the Police and Guards of Chief Oyath is a matter of law enforcement and procedures; it has nothing to do with the culture, the kingdom and the King as Mr. Simon mixes these up. If Chief Oyath happened to be a spokesman for our dear King that is a different case because law does not exempt anyone as no one is above the law as Simon rightly said. Even those who are granted immunity are not above the law because their immunity can be suspended at times to allow the law to take its right course. So please Simon, you better keep our dear king out of politics if you really respect him as the symbol of Collo’s Unity and Culture.

Could Mr. Saimom be specific: Who are the Upper Nile authorities who cancelled the opened case against Chief Oyath? Are these the very law agencies in the body of attorney or are they different people? Please note that government divides its functions according to specialized branches (Legislative, Executive and Judiciary). So let the case of Chief Oyath be taken to the court so that the judges can rule on it rather than the politicians. I know that the judges are eagerly waiting for the Attorney to take that case to them. Once the case is with the judges, then nobody is going to interfere with it from any motive. The judges are independent than the Attorney and they cannot be easily influenced or threatened by the politicians. So no delay because this will deny justice.

Warranty of Arrest is a procedure used in law enforcement process before the case reaches the judge in the court. The one who is accused is arrested so that his statement are taken and then presented to the court together with the accusation leveled against him. There he will be allowed to defend and free himself if he is not guilty of the charge. It does not work in the opposite direction as Simon falsely puts it. Once the warranty of arrest is released, it can be executed any time (day or night) by any police staff using any means of transport. So please Simon revise your law’s civilization and check contradictions in your argument if you want the readers to believe your unbelievable story against Dr. Lam. Know that Dr. Lam’s supporters are out there to defend his defendable pursuit of democratic transformation and Self-determination. Do not play around with this rare icon in Sudanese politcs.