EXPOSING POLITICAL DECEIT: How Denay Chagor Rise To Power Without Education and Military Training

By Dr. Ran Kuoth Chak

Incompetency Part I,

File: South Sudan Minister of Higher Education Science & Technology, Denay Jock Chagor | Credit | Facebook

July 24, 2020(SSNN) — For the past fifteen years, incompetency has been one of the frequently cited factors in the failure of South Sudan and it has been predominantly so because president Salva Kiir neither attained accredited education nor was he directly involved in political administration of the SPLM. If anything, President Kiir was known for his military command or “security intelligence”, which most of his colleagues believe was a disaster; however, unlike Salva Kiir, who had military training and over 20 years work experience under the leadership of Dr. John Garang de Mabior but still failed to manage the country, Hon. Denay has nothing to showcase his blackmailing American accent, not even a graduation gown or a tassel.  

A thorough investigation into Denay’s academic background and work experience, reveals that the former Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology did not attain the education he claims to have attained and, as he hinted in his speech, Denay never obtained any transferable leadership skills in the United States, not even a position in the community leadership.

Academic Background,

Denay Chagor and his friend M. Jangjuol [full identity withheld] arrived in the United States in 2006 and settled in Burnsville, Minnesota, United States. To fit in the American curriculum, where students are placed in classes according to their ages, Denay was forced by the system to reduce his age. This is where the mystery of January 1st, 1990, which he tried to explain recently, came into being. He was advised to give himself sixteen [16] years so that he could resume his education in high school and it worked. As a result, he was placed in grade 10 with other actual 16-year old students. That was somehow higher than the primary level he attained in Africa but it was a reasonable decision. 

US passport of minister Denay Jock Chagor showing his real birthdate (Photo credit: Obtained by South Sudan News Now)

US passport of minister Denay Jock Chagor showing his real birthdate (Photo credit: Obtained by South Sudan News Now)

Denay managed to finish his high school in 2008 but failed his grade 12 exams and therefore he never got accepted into university. With low grades he couldn’t make it to college and at the same time he couldn’t secure a job due to lack of work experience and also because he didn’t pass a number of standardized tests. This was a bitter experience, the world of opportunities suddenly closed its doors on Mr. Chagor.

Two years later, Mr. Chagor stumbled on a soft target institution, the Northland International University,  a family-based Christian college in Dunbar, Wisconsin, and he was accepted. According to their linkedin profile, the long version of “About Us” of this college is to:

The mission of Northland International University is to glorify God (1) by providing an educational environment for developing servant-leaders in honesty, obedience, wisdom, and service to love Jesus Christ with all their heart, soul, and mind and (2) by teaching students to live by the principles of God’s Word, to walk with God as His faithful laborers, and to serve in local churches for revival, world evangelization, and the discipling of future generations for the cause of Jesus Christ”

The short version of Northland College is that it was founded by the family of Paul and Mamie Patz and Reverend Harold and Arlene Sailer, and it operated without accreditation. This meant that its students were not eligible for government financial assistance and its graduates were not recognized by the Wisconsin Higher Education Aids Board because the college was never eligible for regional accreditation programs. Eventually the college was closed down in 2014 and attempts to sell the school assets failed. Today, what was a Northland College is used for summer camps for youth, families and church retreats.

According to his LinkedIn account, which was created recently to dub South Sudanese into accepting a false narrative, Denay Chagor attended Northland International University between 2007 and 2010, and graduated with a Masters’ Degree in Political Science and Government. This is not just a wishful thinking or a lie but a perjury, which is a criminal offence that is indictable in the United States. Mr. Chagor did not graduate from this theology college either. The world turned on him again!

denay chagor

First, it should be noted that Denay finished his high school in 2008 and therefore it is impossible to finish a four-year bachelor degree and two-year Masters degree within two or three years. Secondly, the former Biblical College never offered a Masters’ Degree program in Political Science and Governance or in Law because it was a theology college and in addition it was not accredited by the regional government in the first place. Third, Mr. Chagor obtained low grades in high school and he was not eligible for scholarships and bursaries to pursue education of his choice. This contributed to his expulsion from Northland.

According to Northland, Mr. Chagor had difficulties conforming to the religious values of Northland College. Perhaps he wanted a degree for the sake of it but he never intended to be evangelized, so he was expelled from Northland within the same year on moral grounds and therefore he never graduated – not with a degree, not with a diploma and not with a certificate. In early 2015, he travelled back to Africa, empty handed, where he suddenly joined politics!

 Implication in the Death of Gen. Peter Gatdet,

To join the South Sudan political arena, Mr. Chagor spotted another soft target, Gen. Peter Gatdet Yaka. Gatdet felt out with the SPLM/A-IO in July 2015 over the signing of the peace agreement and as soon as he established his own political party, Denay joined him in Khartoum for two reasons: one, Gatdet married Denay’s sister and two, Gatdet was not educated. For these two reasons, Denay saw an opportunity in exploiting one of Nuer’s bravest generals and this worked out perfectly for him.

In no time, Gatdet trusted Denay given that he was his brother-in-law and also for claiming to have attained higher education in the USA. According to those who knew him in Khartoum, Denay told Gatdet and other members of SSUM that he holds a Masters’ Degree in Law. Because of these reasons, Gatdet began to delegate Denay to negotiate with representatives of the South Sudan Government whenever they visited Khartoum or Addis Ababa 

According to insiders, within less than a year, Denay and his subordinate, who is identified as Col. Mike,a former logistic officer for Gen. Peter Gatdet, established trust with Tutkew and they were pushed to convince Gen. Peter Gatdet to travel to Juba which Gatdet refused. It was within this confusion that Gatdet met his death in Khartoum for which Denay and Mike became the immediate suspects for possible poisoning of the late for political reasons. The duo were then outlawed by the SSUM military wing, however, they managed to escape to Juba and since then Denay has become a quasi-opposition that directly operates under the operatives of President Salva Kiir.

The insiders believe this is the main reason Denay never speaks about the death of Gen. Peter Gatdet and he never acknowledges him in his quest for power although he claims to be the chairman of SSUM/A. Instead he wants to drill himself into Jonglei politics and possibly into the SPLM-IG. 

A Minister of Higher Education Without Higher Education,

South Sudan President, Mr. Salva Kiir, might not have known that the boy has just lied to him about his academic background, however, Mr. Kiir himself has no higher education and therefore he would still have appointed him as his minister of higher education simply because the other candidate, Dr. Lam Akol, is well qualified and he is also a serious rival that Mr. Kiir is trying to eliminate from all political scenes by any means possible. This is how Denay ended up as the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology.

In sum, it suffices to conclude that Mr. Chagor’s appointments have nothing to do with his competency either in terms of academic qualifications or work experiences but more to do with politics of destruction. The young man is being exploited for three reasons: one, for President Kiir to gain popularity among the youth; two, for Kiir to divide, weaken and rule the Nuer; and three, for Kiir to divide and rule over the South Sudan Oppositions 

The author Dr. Ran Kuoth Chak can be reached through his email at rankchak@gmail.com


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