South Sudan was always a powder-keg

A picture taken on December 25, 2013 shows the aftermath of massive looting conducted by rebels at a market, including shops burnt to ashes, in Bor, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of the capital Juba. The latest fallout is uncalled for, and a big blemish on Africa’s image as a whole. The Horn of Africa region, Kenya and Ethiopia in particular, with whom South Sudan has entered into a strategic partnership, are bound to lose big. PHOTO/FILE/AFP 

In Summary

• It took many years of fighting and political agitation before a comprehensive peace process eventually bore fruit, leading to independence.
• Ethnicity, the main cancer afflicting Africa’s unity, which has been latent in South Sudan, had finally erupted into violence, to the consternation of many who failed to notice it coming.
• The latest fallout is uncalled for, and a big blemish on Africa’s image as a whole.

By Mohamed Wato

The plunge into the abyss by South Sudan was always on the horizon.

South Sudan’s journey to independence was never easy: It took many years of fighting and political agitation before a comprehensive peace process eventually bore fruit, leading to independence.

I was honoured to witness at least a few of those many ground-breaking peace meetings, where the SPLA leader John Garang and Sudan’s Vice-President Mohamed Twaha came together to seek solutions for South Sudan.

I was directly involved as a member of the support staff to two of Kenya’s finest peace ambassadors, Lt-Gen Daniel Opande and Lt-Gen Lazarus Sumbeiywo, who led the search for an amicable solution to the South Sudan question.

For General Sumbeiywo in particular, South Sudan was like his project; he committed a lot of time to assist our South Sudanese brothers, and he must be feeling let down by the current disagreement that has turned tragic, with many South Sudanese being killed and thousands more displaced in just under two weeks.

No one, not even the UN Mission in Sudan, ever thought that South Sudan will return to armed conflict to resolve internal power wrangles.

Ethnicity, the main cancer afflicting Africa’s unity, which has been latent in South Sudan, had finally erupted into violence, to the consternation of many who failed to notice it coming.

It was just a matter of time before the Nuer and the Dinka went for each other’s jugular as their leaders, Dr Riek Machar and President Salva Kiir locked horns.

South Sudan is a geographical region within the African transition zone.

Obviously, the Islamic front remains as big a challenge as it was even before the country attained independence.

The unsettled Jonglei question, and the disagreement on the formula for sharing oil wealth with its brother, Sudan, was thought to be the only challenge facing the brand new nation.

The latest fallout is uncalled for, and a big blemish on Africa’s image as a whole.

The Horn of Africa region, Kenya and Ethiopia in particular, with whom South Sudan has entered into a strategic partnership, are bound to lose big.

This conflict can easily worsen if not checked, as other interested parties to the conflict exploit the disorder and bring the country to the brink of collapse.

President Kenyatta and his IGAD (The Intergovernmental Authority on Development) colleagues are justified in calling for unconditional return to normalcy in South Sudan. The conflict is pointless and must be stopped at all costs.

Mr Wato is a former KDF officer. He now works with an international organisation in the United States