VOLUME 1, LETTER NO 001: Dear Anjelina Teny, regarding your recent Anniversaries,
The Voiceless,
South Sudan’s First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, and Angelina Teny, Minister of Defense celebrating 39th wedding anniversary and birthday in the capital, Juba(Photo credit: FVP Press Unit)
June 6, 2020(SSNN) — To begin with, may these letters find you in good health and wealth. Hon. Angelina Teny, the Minister of Defense and Veterans Affairs, we would be proud to introduce ourselves by names to you and your sympathizers but at this moment in time that does not matter because it is not us, the authors, who shall be speaking to you in these letters but the voiceless – the deads, orphans, widows, disabled, poor, illiterate, and millions of vulnerable populations in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps, refugee camps, swamps and other inaccessible areas within the boundaries of South Sudan, other parts of the region and wherever they might be. In brief, we are just The Voiceless – the voice of the voiceless. As such, when you feel the urge to address any of these concerns that we shall be issuing in these volumes of letters, do not address us(The Voiceless) but address the poor people of South Sudan, and you can do that by publicly addressing these concerns and any other important concern that might not have been addressed in these letters.
Your honour, be advised that when we file enough of these articles, we may publish them as journals, magazines and books that shall be titled “The Civilian Accountability, the case of ‘1234 politicians’ ”, where “1234 politicians” is just a placeholder for the names of the leaders that shall be featured in each volume. We are also in the process of setting up a website that shall be dedicated entirely for this purpose – holding senior politicians and other leaders accountable. Be further advised that your responses to any of these articles shall be compiled and published in these volumes, thus, feel free to defend yourself even though there will be very little to defend.
Honorable, again as a hint, we would also like to mention that the most appropriate defense mechanism that any of you [the politicians], who shall find themselves in this position should take, will not be the use of force or intimidation but to join us, the voiceless, so that together we can demand justice, accountability, reforms, federalisms and many other mechanisms that were recently re-established in Pagak, 2014-2015. We believe these principles or natural human rights were only re-constituted because these demands have been the core principles of the South Sudanese revolution since 1947 and also the fundamental of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of the Human Rights (Parish, December 10, 1948) but politicians like you have severally found it easier to abandon these principles at the very last minute when they are about to be achieved and opted to pursue personal interests. In this letter we will only address the issue of “The Cake” in reference to your recent Birthday and Wedding Anniversary Celebration but in our next letters we will address many of your recent appointments of ministers and how they are jeopardizing the well-being of the victims and South Sudan as a country.
The Cake,
Hon. Angelina Teny’s birthday cake(Photo credit: FVP Press Unit)
Your honour, the root cause of our conflicts, both in the old Sudan and in our new South Sudan, has always been about The CAKE. It is a known fact in world history that all the economic wars and political power struggles, and even the most subtle religious conflicts, have always been and will always be about the division of the CAKE. Food is the least common denominator that units twins, families, clans, states and countries. A family that eats together stays together and that goes all the way to bilateral relationships between different countries. That can’t be emphasized enough!
Honourable, we must confess that there is nothing wrong for any of us to celebrate a birthday but there is a difference between showing off a lavish lifestyle, especially when you are a leader of a dying population, and celebrating personal achievements. We have to tell you right now that many South Sudanese who live in developed countries can afford to travel the world, bath in the most prestigious beaches around the world, celebrate big birthdays and wedding anniversaries but because of wars that you, the so called lavished liberators, have imposed on us for almost 70 years, manny South Sudanese who are well off and can afford lavish lifestyles have forgone these types of celebrations and only sympathize with the poor and relatives who can barely support themselves. Majority of these South Sudanese, who are better off, are reasonable enough to spend that little money they could have spent on buying a cake to support populations in UNMISS camps and refugee camps. Others are trying to support charity organizations or commit themselves to building a structure that would serve as a classroom or a clinic in the villages that most of you have forgotten about!
Your honour, to be precise, you are setting a wrong precedent that cannot go unabated, and if we cannot stop it now when you do not have absolute powers, we will not stop it when you become the First Lady of this country. This act treasonously betrays the wisdom of the SPLM/A(IO) revolution and the souls of many martyrs who are lost in these conflicts, and it will be the biggest betrayal for this country if your presidency will turn J1 into a honeymoon and birthday picnic.
Your honour, the South Sudanese are fully aware that the first four families i.e. the family of Dr. John Garang de Mabior, family of Salva Kiir, your family and family of Dr. Wani Igga, who are holding multiple positions in this RTGONU, have taken 25% of the national cake that is meant for over 12 million population but many vulnerable South Sudanese populations who identify with the SPLM/A-IO expected your family to share your piece of cake with the IDPs, refugees, widows and orphans, not only of the recent civil war but the entire war of liberation because you seemed to understand and sympathize with the victims and the poor but you are now proving us wrong. This lavishness resonates with the chorus of your critics, who have constantly recited that “the nuer are dying for one man’s position”. You got your positions and there you are – celebrating your birthdays and wedding anniversaries when the poor who stood up for you when you needed them the most are now left suffering and killing one another due to the political vacuum in the country that your leadership is failing to resolve due to reasons that are best known to you. By proving your critics right, you are weakening your support base and strengthening your enemy and critics!
The Atmosphere – what is so special this time?
Image showing some of the tragic events of this week. On the left is John Luk Joak, Gen. Mawich and Nuer sectorial fighting in POC, June 6(Photo credit: supplied)
Your honour, the atmosphere we are in is not conducive for birthday and wedding anniversary celebrations – people are dying. Within this week alone, South Sudan has lost many liberation warriors and on top of that list is Justice John Luk Joak, who passed away on June 2, 2020.
John Luk joined the SPLM/A at the same time with Dr. Riek Machar in 1984, an important virtue that deserves utmost respect not only from Dr. Riek and his family but from all the founders of the SPLM/A. In addition, Justice John Luk served the SPLM/A-Nasir/SSIM/A under the leadership of Dr. Riek Machar Teny which is another important virtue that deserves a week-long moment of silence.
Last but not the least, Justice Luk comes from the Nuer tribe, and therefore, when other South Sudanese leaders failed to mourn him with the honesty he deserves, your family should have taken the lead to declare a mourning period for the deceased. Without a doubt, Dr. Riek Machar could have served the media with his usual condolence letters if Justice Luk was a none-Nuer politician but since he was a Nuer politician, it became apparent that his death was not a big deal. How do you, the Nuer icons, expect other non-nuer leaders and other tribes to respect you and the Nuer when you do not uphold one another as high as you deserve? The example you have shown does not exist in Nuer culture, Nuer have the highest respect for the dead and for their deceased!
Your honour, we want to bring to your attention that the Nuer is at war with herself, with her neighbors and also with a system that is foundationally set to annihilate them for decades and centuries. Within this week alone, while you are celebrating birthdays and wedding anniversaries, the SPLM/A-IO found itself fighting an outraged group of white armies in Juachbor, Fangak County, Jonglei State. A senior general, Mawich Dol, who was also a governor, was killed on June 3, 2020 – two days before you hold a lavish birthday and wedding anniversary celebration. Until today, June 6, that fighting has not been resolved by your leadership yet you are busy celebrating and feasting.
Needless to say, on the day of your celebration a conflict that should have been contained right away broke out in your backyard at the UNMISS Protection of Civilian site in Juba. This fighting which has gone on for two days now is fitting many Nuer subsections against one another. For the sake of records, where is the leadership that took Dr. Riek Machar from Juba to Pibor and Likwangale to stop Lou-nuer youth from revenging their deaths in 2012?
History will judge your legacy but it remains a shame if the Nuer leaders can only intervene in conflicts where the Nuer tries to revenge against other tribes who have humiliated them, simply because you are tired of being criticized by the none-Nuer communities for your past negligence, but chose to remain silent celebrating petty unceremonial achievements when it is the Nuer butchering themselves.
South Sudanese protesting after a shooting by president Kiir’s nephew killed fellow Dinka men and women at Sharikat-Bor Park on June 3rd, 2020(Photo credit: supplied)
Your honour, we have no intention to unearth all the dirt that happened this week but the incident of Shirkat cannot go unmention in this letter. This incident happened on June 3rd as well but the three most important concerns you should have addressed at your personal capacity are: one, unarmed civilians were killed by well armed officers and that deserves condemnations from the top leaderships in the country just like Dr. Lam Akol and other leaders did. Two, the ringleader of the unknown gunmen comes from South Sudan Statehouse (J1) and therefore, if you choose to condone this practice right now, the civilians may not feel safe in your hands when your family forms the presidency and those who have served in your inner circle, especially in Pagak recently, have their own accounts of “Dok brutality”. Your silence on the Shirkat incident justifies their account. Third, the incident had the capacity to escalate into something bigger that can be used to dismantle the peace agreement and therefore as the main beneficiary of this peace agreement and a purported custodian of it, your eyes should remain open and therefore, you should have been among the senior politicians and generals that rushed to the scene or media to try to deescalate such incidents!
Lastly, the reasons you did not celebrate your birthdays and wedding anniversaries for the last seven years was because of a civil war. That war is not resolved. In simple terms, nothing has been accomplished that warrants a sense of safety and celebrations. The IDPs remain in impoverished concentration camps and most of them are developing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other mental health issues. This is a major concern. In addition, the army that would provide a sense of security is not yet trained and integrated, the cities are not demilitarized, IDPs houses and other civilian centers are still occupied by the unknown gunmen who have imposed themselves as the new owners. All these need 24-7 commitments from your leadership, so where exactly do you get time and energy to celebrate birthdays and wedding anniversaries when the people you promised to take to Canaan are still wandering in the wilderness? This justifies that the main peace partner [The SPLM-IG] under the leadership of President Salva Kiir does not have a serious peace partner to implement the peace agreement with because you have all been bought off. Therefore, the intransigence that delays peace implementation should rather be blamed on the lack of a viable opposition that should push for the implementation of the peace agreement.
Scrutinizing the colleagues and friends you party with
Your honour, the essence of any celebration is not the cake or the party per se but the memory it resonates. Assume that everything was normal in South Sudan like in many countries that enjoys peace, stability and reasonable party-like lifestyle, and you were to celebrate your anniversaries. In an ideal scenario, your children will celebrate their birthdays and wedding anniversaries with colleagues they grew up with, went to school together, born or marry around the same time and so forth, and similarly the South Sudanese will expect the same from you and Dr. Riek Machar.
South Sudan First Vice President and his wife Angelina Teny, celebrates their 39th marriage anniversary (Photo credit: FVPO)
In your birthday and wedding anniversary, South Sudanese should expect to see your age mates, academic and political colleagues, at least people who can tell one or two things about your birthday, wedding and political life; unfortunately, the most senior official that you rubbed on the face of South Sudanese is none but the most incompetent and most inexperience Minister of Health, Elizabeth Acuei. Who in his right mind wants to see or socialize with Hon. Acuei at this critical moment where she is mishandling our health sector and most of our people are dying? We thought that was an insult that would give elderly politicians like Awet Akot some heart attack.
The kind of attendance we witnessed for such an important anniversary sends a strong signal that the Teny family has lost legitimacy and popularity in South Sudan. In such an important celebration South Sudan expected to see renowned and world-class diplomats and politicians, and if Coronavirus was going to be an excuse, then the ten or so people that should have been invited should have been strategically and purposely chosen. We believe that if this was Salva Kiir’s celebration we would have seen not only his top politicians and allies but a variety of people representing important institutions and family friends. Again, who were all those unfamiliar faces? Could they all be friends of Hon. Acuei? That does not matter but the message it communicates matters!
Given that this celebration was not celebrated in many years, it should have been postponed to the right moment where it would have meaningfully served its ideals and celebrated at a time of happiness. Given the coronavirus, its preventive measures and all the deaths that are happening in Juba and around the country, the family of Dr. Machar, and specifically Hon. Angelina Teny who seemed to be the engine behind this idea, should not have organized this celebration because it contradicts everything that the upright man stands for!
The Culture of Celebrating Birthday and Wedding Anniversaries
Hon. Teny, you have been a role model for many young women and men alike. Specifically, you stood out because you are an authentically and unapologetically bold African woman. You chose not to bleach your skin or braid your hair. These are bold decisions for a woman to make and there are many young women and men who admire you for these values and they applaud you for them.
Now that you want to show us how to celebrate our birthdays and wedding anniversaries in foreign cultures that the majority of our populations cannot afford, what precedent is that supposed to set? The cake and glamour wedding anniversary celebration in western style does resonate well with the values you claimed to represent. Therefore, the poor and vulnerable populations that stood up for you may distance itself because this is not their culture. South Sudanese are Africans who only rear cattle and poultries, and therefore, they would rather celebrate using what they have – if they really have to celebrate and feast!
Furthermore, we have no issue with your choice of marriage but we found it interesting that you dragged Dr. Riek Machar into celebrating wedding and birthday anniversaries. We understand that Dr. Riek has multiple wives and therefore the public would expects him to be fair to all of his wives and children for the general public to have confident in him that he will be fair to all the citizens of South Sudan without prejudice or discrimination. This entails that the First Vice President should similarly organize birthday parties and wedding anniversaries for all his wives and to be equally fair, they should all be done just like the June 5th celebration – in front of the media and be announced on social media by the Press Secretary, James Gatdet.
Your honour, this message should not be misconstrued for something else but the reason this private event was published on social media of the First Vice President Presidential Press Unit, which is a public page, was to invite public celebration and also criticism. As the voice of the voiceless, we cannot celebrate this form of injustice against other women in your household because we will be humiliating your co-wives, who do not enjoy these marriage privileges and entitlements, by default or by association!
The Question of Accountability
From the accountability framework, the public would be outraged for misuse of public funds if it can be justified that this anniversary was organized using resources from the Ministry of Defense or from the office of the First Vice President. This concern cannot be established right now but it cannot be ruled out if the family of the First Vice President and other senior politicians will follow this example and start holding public weddings and birthday anniversaries for their multiple wives and children. The family of Dr. Riek Machar alone will end up holding more than ten weddings and birthdays anniversaries, and one big family like those of Gen. Paul Malong Awan will end up holding more than 300 weddings and birthdays anniversaries.
We doubt South Sudan is prepared to watch these luxurious private events on television or on social media in the middle of civil and tribal wars, and numerous other challenges. Therefore, The Voiceless strongly believe that press Secretaries, James Gatdet Dak, Ateny Wek Ateny, Lam Paul Gabriel and other press secretaries, should strictly observe their duties and not allow themselves to be dragged into internal family feuds, unfair competition and misuse of public media.
The Voiceless are concerned South Sudanese who speak for the voiceless. They can be reached through their official email at 123456789voiceless@gmail.com
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