The unreported,cowardly killing of a 3 year old Mabaan child
The unreported, cowardly killing of a 3-year-old Mabaan child, and an unarmed Mabaan man on April 11th, 2019 in Kilo Ashara: My Condemnation.
Opinion,
By Tawfiq Zuruf Musa,
Displaced women and children under a hot sun in South Sudan’s Maban County, where food shortages are causing tension. © UNHCR/P.Rulashe
May 26th, 2019(SSNN) — A cowardly South Sudanese security agent has taken the lives of 2 Mabaan civilians (one a 3 year old girl, the other an un-armed civilian) and wounded 4 others, including a lady. These were supposed to be the people the agent was protecting. It has been a month to be exact, Governor Awer Dau Agany and his office have not yet reported the Kilo Ashara incident to the South Sudanese local and national media. What is the delay? Has the governor chosen sides? In the spirit and interest of South Sudan becoming truly one as a people, I must strongly condemn the injuring and the senseless killings of Mabaan people by a South Sudanese security agent with the strongest terms possible. Further, I am deeply saddened and disgusted, the killer was given safe passage by his fellow Dinka security colleagues.
And, I am equally appalled with the silence, and inability of the Northern Upper Nile State governor, in not condemning these killings, and for not reporting them to the media. Governor Agany’s passive reaction, and or no action towards bringing the killer of unarmed Mabaan people to justice, is in itself a proof that he is not representing the people of the Northern Upper Nile State as a whole. With his silence, Governor Agany appears to be representing and serving only the interests of the JCE, and therefore seemingly shielding his fellow tribe by ignoring his responsibilities to capture the cowards responsible for these abominable actions. As of now, there has been no investigation nor probe started by the Governor and his office into why members of the South Sudan security team have killed and injured Mabaan civilians.
This is not the first time the government has turned their backs on innocent Mabaan lives, taken by the South Sudan security agents and unknown gunmen. About 2 years ago, on August 24th, 2017, 6 innocent Mabaan civilians were killed and 4 others injured in an attack in Paloich, Northern Upper Nile by their Dinka neighbors. The former governor of Northern Upper Nile, Deng Akui Kak, also intentionally failed to condemn the killings, and deliberately made no attempt to apprehend the killers.
Where is the urgency and the decisive action that was taken in August of 2018 by the State government of Northern Upper Nile, in the arrest and jailing of Mabaan youths who had vandalized NGO’s properties while protesting for lack of jobs, and the unfair employment of the local Mabaan people? I am not condoning with this question, the actions of my fellow Mabaan youth for vandalizing UN properties, but I am demanding transparency, consistency and the fair application of the law. The Mabaan youths did not kill anyone, yet they were taken to prison in Renk. Governor Awer Dau Agany has disrespected Southwest Mabaan County and the Mabaan people through his unequal application of the law when he failed to apprehend the cowardly security agent responsible for taking the lives of the 2 innocent Mabaan people, as well as wounding 4 other innocent Mabaan civilians.
In the future, I cannot watch innocent Mabaan people dying under the hands of the very government whose responsibility it is to serve and protect them. As a son of Mabaan living in the diaspora, I want to see fair coverage of my people on South Sudan media with Radio Tamazuj and the South Sudan TV. It is my understanding, and the belief of the whole Mabaan, that other counties in South Sudan get better coverage of national and local media than our Mabaan counties. I must demand transparency and the equal representation of Mabaan people from the government of Northern Upper Nile and Governor Awer Dau Agany. In addition, I want to see the Mabaan people treated as equals to their Dinka neighbors of Northern Upper Nile, and not as 2nd class citizens. The Republic of South Sudan as we know it, was not liberated by one single tribe, but rather our young nation was liberated by the collective efforts of all 64 tribes.
In conclusion, I ask governor Agany, to come out and condemn the action of the South Sudanese security agent who cowardly took the lives of 2 Mabaan civilians (one a 3 year old girl, the other an un-armed civilian) and wounded 4 others, including a lady. Governor Awer Dau Agany, must come out and make an official statement that the search is on to capture the killer and those who aided the killer to escape, as an assurance to Southwest Mabaan County and the local Mabaan Community of Kilo Ashara. On behalf of the people of Mabaan, I condemn and ask that all those responsible for these heinous actions be brought to justice, and that these actions be announced on South Sudanese media.
Is it too much to ask for transparency, equality, and justice for every citizen of Northern Upper Nile? To borrow the American saying, are “we Separate but Equal” or are we truly one, as a people?
Peace, Unity and Equality for all people of Northern Upper Nile and the Republic of South Sudan.
Respectfully,
Tawfiq Zuruf Musa – ztongo90@gmail.com
Fmr South Sudanese Community of Massachusetts -General Secretary
Fmr Mabaan Global Youth Foundation-General Secretary
Fmr SPLM-Massachusetts Chapter-Secretary of Foreign Affairs
Fmr Mabaan Youth Association of America-Secretary of Information
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