Opinion | Guit County communities must stop immoral killings because it is not our habit

By Elder John Juan Dong

Proverbs 6:7: “Arrogant eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill innocent people”

Timothy 5:8: “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever”.

Mathew 22:37-40. 37 Jesus said: “Love the lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul with all your mind”

OPINION – Dear tribesmen, I’m one of your elders, and may I quote God’s order to Moses in Exodus 12:21. He says, “bring your (70) Israel elders who are known to you as leaders and to serve together to communicate the PASSOVER.”

Please Gaatkiir Kaker, look out! We are people of God, who have an everlasting historical culture from Him through our grand grandfathers and thus remain a heritage for us. Yet surprisingly Jikany Kiirkaker has now adopted a criminal act which never existed before. An ongoing immoral act of killings introduced by the young generation of Guit County of Unity State has compelled me to come out and write this petition to advice my young generations, sons and daughters after seven years without writing an article.

Brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, you should realize how painful it is for an elder who is deep rooted on following up well established cultural systems that promote peace, harmony and unity to hear shocking news on unprecedented killings in the respectful community of Gaatkiir-kaker. Again, may I have the opportunity, being an elder to advise you all from my love filled heart? I wish all our citizens, not only you bull, our country citizens, and especially elders could also read. The immoral killing being now practiced nowadays among Jikany Community is an abuse to our norms and culture blessed by God. It is not at all fair to our young generations who are now following our footsteps to become murderers, which is a habit that we never knew. You are not a paramilitary or bibliophile type under the law of war, but a respective good citizen governed by law and order ruling the country with respect to humanity. The question is what are the characteristic of powers governing unity state? It is our duty to adjust with the central government that established the system.

Just be mal as Jikanykiir. You are to remember and recall the past historical events that it is your culture that administratively and technically through his report established the unity state in February 1994. You are the blood that honored Dinka Pariang to feel self-reliant and have their decision-making to become a rural council like the rest of the former three rural councils of Nuer, Bentiu, Leer, and Mayom. This is your nature in creation to balance life of human beings living with you on earth. As such under the local government Act 1981 of the Area Council, your elder separated Paring from Bentiu Rural Council to make Dinka Pariang responsible to themselves, and as such they are now happily independent. This establishment of Pariang Rural Council has made the Area Council of Western Nuer have four instead of three. Therefore when Unity Province became Unity State in February 1994, your same faithful culture promoted Pariang rural council to Pariang Province, bringing the number to four provinces in the state government. For your good habit created by the Lord God Almighty under the directives of late Samuel Ater Dak, your peaceful spiritual culture was directed to separate Leer from the mother Rural Council of Bentiu to become a rural council on its own on Nov. 1977 under local government Act 1971 of Gaafer Mohamed Ali Bakhit, and under the theme of rural development. You are to remember that we elders have kept peace in heart under local government laws that crime whether civil or criminal are to be dealt with by 3rd Class Magistrate Court as well as traditional Courts.  They are laws inherited from our grand grandfathers in early days after the fall of Babylon Tower 593 BC. It is God’s wish to rule ourselves peacefully. Crying and weeping are devil-made to kill yourself and finish your population leaving in place a state of hopelessness. The central government is like creation. It has done its task by establishing the three levels of government and honored it to you the peo

ple to rule yourself. It is we the state elders to advise the state governments elected by community from which we are the elders. It is we to be asked by God after one dies if his people still killing themselves as we are today. God will ask him “Why coming to me?” The elder will answer, “Am coming to you seeking for heaven” God looking on the ground will say “But I’m seeing your community still crying. What kind of advice have you given them? “Go back to where you were made of”. That is of course the soil. Being an elder in blood at this age have never witnessed a civil court nor criminal suit, and we hope we will not. We are in the nature of God.

Not only that, 24 years in the service of local government have never had asked for annual leave not only we liked the system, but nature of work looked like fulfillment of creation. The resources, fruits and trees and the water in streams +animals tamed and wild + Raan (human being) all are sources of local government revenues that God established beautifully before.  We as Gaatkiir love our country nature, as well as people of our country respect creation like us. We never joined the first movement because of salaries nor positions. But the green land of green jungle forest, rich with different fruits and medicines, ruled by handsome black people who loved themselves peacefully according to their natural cultures that resembling them.

My young educated class of Gaatkiir, as I’m your elder whom you cannot deny, can I tell the truth as bookworm or bibliophile readers in both Arabic and English, that your culture has been described by efficient and effective world writers, that you are to be proud with instead of killing yourselves? Now let us think deeply, is unity state or Guit County established to be ruled by a lot of talks and whispering, or gossiping or by reflection of historical written documents to benefit the future generation? An English proverb says “Much cry, little wool” means much talk but little result. Please your future is bright after independence and with the help of God we shall insist to push you ahead in His name.

Killing is an abuse to God who has created us according to His own image and likeliness, to be honest and faithful to all human beings resembling us on earth. Why are we contradicting the creation of God? Why instead can’t we thank Him for giving us life by loving ourselves and passing over the love to other communities in return to His love for us to survive in unity? Can we not remember that historical National Day of Referendum in 2009 all over the 247,777 square miles of South Sudan targeting achievement of independence?

Dear Jikany Kier, we all stood firm in one line at GUIT COUNTY national square, equally like the rest of the 63 tribes in their respective counties. To prove your honesty for self-rule to obtain independence, you gave the most votes all over Unity State to President Salva Kiir Mayardit and that remains a history in the National Elections records January 2010. Of course, history has two faces that one cannot deny, positive and negative, yes or no.

Believe me as an elder who tells the truth to make you live long! In humanity, killing a human being who has the spirit of God in him is a sin and sign of bad omen. And anyone who secretly instigates killing behind the curtain is also considered as if he has killed an innocent person. As one of your elders, according to the generation system of GAAT KIIR as it’s my duty to give you fair advice which bear fruits to you all in respect of the Jikany community and South Sudan in general.

Dear my beloved culture, I feel happy and proud to advice my young generation, to listen peacefully and carefully to spiritual advice. Please note that God never made Earth 21 percent and Water 79 percent in vain. In ruling over life on the universe, God made water and earth as reserved powers to observe and to oversee in order to overcome the evil power in man whenever he tries to imitate or change creation knowingly or unknowingly through advanced technology. An example, for the moon to become a new earth, where human beings can resort simply because of the mistake of man on earth is difficult and hard to implement.

An example last year in 2021, because of COVID-19, an American spaceship took off from NASA base seeking for settlement in the moon but was forcefully horrified by a terrible dust as a sign of warning from God.

Remember the great flood in the first century written about in the Bible, well documented historical events, and with some math, we find that the flood began approximately 4,359 years ago in the year 1656 AM or 2, 348 BC from today the 5th of October 2022. See also the forceful burning forests now terrifying the life of citizens in their places of residences.

Again, remember what caused the terrible flood of 2021 in Unity state, Bentiu that flooded Jikany leaving no village dry, and it continues to date.

Can you guess what caused it? To be sincere, according to God’s image the floods may be caused by the immoral killings. Remember the killing of a general in September 2021 and the murder of an international medical personnel giving services to his people. It’s hard to explain, except the word of God mentioned above to explain.

In the Old Testament, the book of Genesis, Chapter 26, God said, “I have created man according to my own image and likeliness, but, still in him the evil”. See how evil is now finishing our population. Jikany are today killing each other knowingly and without sympathy.

Sooner or later, we shall be described as unruly people in a lawless Unity state without the rule of law, and writers on the national or international arena will describe us as such.

Brothers of Jikany KiirKaker of Guit County of Unity State, stop killing yourselves, our population is diminishing!!!

Nothing on earth can save us, just we need to recall that we have been created as peaceful people. God created us and blessed us to live peacefully honest, with great dignity and honesty among people on earth.

I, being one of your elders from the same blood that runs in your vein like River Nile throughout the year, I still harness our history greatly.

It was handed down over time from our great grandfathers in line with creation of God, provided to us to remember his creation.

The JIKANY tribe, among the seven (7) Nuer tribes in Unity State, from the British rule (1898-1956), up to now are still being described in appreciation as people of glimmering light of faithfulness, honesty and more especially honorary due to their perfect sense of humanity.

Our fathers would command snakes crawling into a compound sternly, “Get away, back to where you came from” and they immediately obeyed.

In case of doubts, ask any elder of Gaatkiir-Kaker, 72 years and above, to explain to you the powers of Gaatkier in Doang Nyie Dhoc.

In those days, when cows were coming home from grazing accompanied by a deer or two deer (gazelle), elders while smoking in their cattle Luak, smoking their long pipes would turn to Doang Nyiey Dhoc in his Bull cow’s name, “CHARJUAL, see how that Deer (gazelle) is coming home with our cows when we are in need of meat”. Doang would ask them about the whereabouts of the deer in the midst of cows, and when he sees it, he says, “Then let it fall” and it would falls.

See how our heritage and cultural norms were created and blended with reserved spiritual powers for elders to rule their people. When not blemished by sin, you can achieve miracles. Our old people were guided by their total believe in God.

The killing of innocent citizens and the scattering of a peaceful population to suffering are devilish acts designed towards the destruction of Jikany population in line with reducing them to dust. Do you know how human beings can become extinct? We will regret if we do not look out now.

Elders and brothers in age, may I advise you in this deadly occasion which we are socially and historically responsible for the destruction of our society of Gaatkiir-Kaker?

1. Do you know what God tells an elder after his death when his spirit trying to meet God and his people are still killing themselves? God will ask him. “What do you want from me now?” and turned looking at the ground and says “I’m now seeing your subjects, your people still crying killing themselves. What advice have you given to convince them to live peacefully? Go back to where you were made from” meaning go back to mud.

 

1. If you see among yourselves, there are elders who do not believe in God. Explore our Jikany society and you find out that some elders advocate for killing specific people in revenge of deaths that occurred. Such advises are not from the family of the deceased but the personal desires of such an elder. It is his ill wishes. It is not the interest of the family whose person is killed. It is that person’s interest who claims politics, who claims leadership. We must look out at this type of people keenly. Dear elders, before we go back to the mud from which we were made, let us check ourselves and revise our image. Killing is indirectly an abuse to the children of God and an act that attracts devastating and invisible epidemic. The 2021 flood in Unity State that covered the whole of Jikany is an example of God’s punishment. It may not stop now if we do not think properly and act wisely. I’m an elder. Our people have scattered to different places in the country as well as the world. We are responsible for their disarray. Do we not know how to govern? Let us read through the line the type of administrative management in Unity state that has caused hundreds of humanitarian crisis. If this is the situation, who is going to bring back our people’s life to normal. Nobody, it is we the elders and our young generation waiting to takeover from us. But what are those good things coming to be taken over by our young ones from us?

Let us take our people back home to their normal life of origin culture and envelope a summary revision of live in the past. Let us respect laws and orders. Let us respect our governments, right from the chiefs, even if they have been usurped by their state government by reasons best known to them.

See the following to prove we are a rich culture on earth in line with how we are created faithfully and peacefully, honesty to God.

During the colonial rule to Sudan, the British Administration wrote about us in pride. You can check in these volumes. The former District Commissioner of Western Nuer, Major G. H Stigand, volume (11) 1919, wrote about “The history of Kier and the White Spear.” Also, Captain V.H Fergusson in volume (1) 1918 wrote: “The Warrior Class of the Nuer.” Of course, in those days, there was no random fighting without an approval from elders. And not everybody goes to fight. It is a young generation given the name “the Warrior class.” Timing and date of fighting got approval of elders from the conflicting sides. Who attempted to make individual killing under the cover of darkness or in secret behavior is cursed to death if he doesn’t confess physically.

Dear gentlemen, your historical culture are perfectly blessed in this description by the most renowned anthropologists in the world, EVANS Pritchard who wrote “The Nuer recognize Kwoth nhial as creator and protector of everything. They  believe He is the Father of all men. This relationship is clearly expressed when they pray to Gwandong (our Father) and in the fact that each tribesman traces his father.”

Evans Pritchard also gave an honest description on our dignified character now diminishing.

“Nuer personalities, Nuer seldom hesitate to utter a challenge or threaten physical violence. They seldom ask for advice.”

Evans Pritchard again went further describing the Jikany culture in relation to when a family loses a member, killed like what is currently ongoing in Guit County.

“The family of the murdered man must feel they can give in to the chiefs and elders without loss of dignity.” 1940: 164

In conclusion, this message is meant to throw light on you, to open a fresh honest faithful new page like when you were born honest when our fathers and grandfathers were respecting themselves, when we were named Gaatkier in honor to God.

Please listen carefully, do you know why God has given you this rare spirit (WIEW)? “WIEW” means power of God. But you are not feeling it in you as you have the two Angels each at your one shoulder and they give their report to God in the doomsday (  يوم الحساب هو يوم القيامة ). The Spirit is not yours to own. To prove, the disappearance of (WIEW) in Jikany society of Gaatkier was unknowingly to be an example as happened to the two cities of Noh in Gamorah and Sodari. It is just like when a committed believer in Christianity, surprisingly becomes a Muslim brother, but doesn’t survive long, he diminishes. Wiew traditionally, is the image of God in you that every human being has in creation. Genesis Ch. (1) 26 God said “WE have created man according to our own image and likeliness, though still in him the evil.”

Jesus said to his people in Jerusalem “I’m not coming to change your norms and customs, but to correct them. Who has divorced his wife must give her a certificate of divorce” Should we still support immoral killing which is destroying our population and historical culture? Or should we stand firm with a belief in God to retain our sense and sensitivity in culture, for our beloved nation to be pleased and proud of us? Mistakes of a community also affect the country indirectly. Please note that WIEW the spirit of God is by your side observing you. You know why Europe and other advanced countries are suffering from the same sins you are finishing yourself with. Wildfires, terrible floods, earthquake and worse of that, terrible destruction caused by nuclear missiles or nuclear war heads, gradually or unknowingly finishing populations.

In reference to our beloved traditional culture, you are a well learned society who loves themselves, just like the sheep of God grazing together in a green pasture. Let us go back to our senses and sensitivity as well as norms full of respect inherited from our grandfathers who built that humanity so that we build together the new land for all as one people of South Sudan.

But if this is the way we protect ourselves from diminishing without reference to our human and social educational history, then what is our role together with our brothers from other communities of the new beloved nation which we all struggled together with to go to war to achieve independence?

لِذَا، فَإنً نَصِيْحَتِي لَكُمْ. إذَا الْمَرْءُ لمْ يُدَنًسْ مِنْ الْلُؤمِ عـِرْضُهُ، فَكُلِ رِدَاءٍ يَرْتَدِيْهِ جَمِيْلُ. وَإنْ هُوَ لَمْ يَحْمِلُ عَلَى النَفْسِ ضَيْمُهَا فَلَيْسَ إلىَ حُسْنِ الْثَنَاءِ سَبِيْلُ.

Bentiu intermediate school had a combination of different students, not only from the different tribes of the Nuer in Upper Nile province in 1962, but from different parts of South Sudan because of your good characteristics and social behavior that led to the approval of your capital city Bentiu by CAG Willis for Civil Secretary in Khartoum, and invited students from various parts of South Sudan, eg Nuer, Dinka, Shilluk, Anyuak, Bari from Equatoria like Baballa Mursal and others from Bahr el Ghazal. Should we not be proud of this unity which you are the source of, in the name of Bentiu the origin of Gaatkier, the capital city on the southern bank of River Ghazaj about 5 miles south of Yonyang (now Rubkhona) where the road joins the river? Do you know our good Dinka students of my class including with Petro Guffa Kong Chuar? These are Chol Abiel, Bol Malow and my best friend Arop Majak, the rare personality who liked joking only with Nuer students from Bentiu like me and Diang Rundial. Those students from Baliet will give you a glance that you are a good culture that unites people like other cultures in South Sudan. They participated with us in the strikes and rebellion in 1964. The death of Arop Majak during an operation remains a painful history in my heart. Are we to abandon this fruitful culture which united the young generation from the different tribes in South Sudan? Who could believe when we arrived in our home city of Bentiu by steamboat (Abu-Anyja). Could you believe one of your elder brothers of Gaatkier, David Wal Garkeak Luof would lead the tough demonstration on our arrival Bentiu river coast on the 1st of January 1965? We started demonstration just from our main residence in Kuer, surrounding Bentiu Police Station, was a sign to rebel? You must also know and remember for your future references that our first elder sons who started the English language in Rumbek school during the British rule included:

1. Late Thomas Kume Kan Jal
2. The late Ngom Tudael.
3. David Wal Garkek
4. Michael Mayil Chuol

Also, see your brothers who were the first Arabic students after independence of Sudan 1st January 1956, are: -.

1. Mubarek Kuol Kij-1956-1960
2. Wiyoah Tuor Nyial-1956-1960
3. Mawom Gatdien Panyan Kuony-1956-1960
4. Gai Puoch-1956-1959 (He left the school and joint music 1959).
5. Biey Tuet Nyabur-1957-1961
6. Kuol Gatdien Panyuan Kuony-1957-1961
7. Nyang Puoch-1957-1961
8. Lamba Puoch-1957-1961
9. John Juan Dong-1958-1963 ( two years in first year, class A  1958 and class B 1959
10. Petro Kong Shuar-1958-1963 (  the same process)

The following also represented the first southern movement from among your Gaatkeir Kaker in 1964 after the strike:

1. Late Wiyoah Tuor Nyal-1963
2. Ngom Tudael-1964
3. Yikuar Tudael-1964 (Now SPLA General)
4. Elnur Hussain Elnur (Now Police General in taxation)
5. Late Bol Tudael
6. John Juan Dong

All contributed actively in the first movement, up until the Addis Ababa accord of 1972.

Honestly should we not contribute in building our new nation now since we have the past history, not only these but others too?

As an educated class, should we not brief our people about our rich history which contributed to the unity of South Sudan? Honestly, as an elder, I must be truthful, there is no nation comprising of different cultures in the world without temporary internal problems but with time it will subside. This is the nature of the world and as sons of God, we must endure. Because of sin, human race is not clean and yet we must continue in the pursuit of that cleanliness.

According to the establishment of 2009 local government Act, and State Supreme Courts which were perfectly existing during the time of governor Taban Deng Gai just after the independence of South Sudan the 9th of July 2011. If these respective institutions were to continue existing, the killing of a general would have not happened. And if it happened, the retaliation that led to the killing of a UN humanitarian doctor in 2022 would have not occurred because the State Supreme Court would have handled the case forthwith and the parents of the first murderer would have immediately come to the court of law and no more immoral killing would have been the topic of this article. Therefore, the eldership committee of Guit County elders must invite the Church to lead a peace talk back home as per attached proposed structure of peace implementation. The two churches, Catholic and Protestant shall lead the elder’s peace team up to Unity State government in capital state city, legal body and a minister from the state government plus two security personnel, senior police officer and army senior officer, both shall be members to this state committee. This is at state level. But when arriving at the people’s local government headquarters of Guit County, the two Churches shall come to an end and form only a ceremonial committee chaired by the two Co-chairs, Catholic and Protestant and the rest of the members. Lastly, at the area of conflicts of Guit County there shall be an Executive Committee implementing resolutions, composed of: –

1. Two Co-chairs:
2. Commissioner of Guit County
3. Judge from Supreme court, termed as executor
4. Three chiefs, (each from rivaling two sections) and the other neutral body as witness- members and implementers
5. Three elders (each from the two rivaling sections) and the other neutral body as witness-members
6. One senior police officer-member
7. One senior army officer-member
8. Two clerks (English & Arabic).

The Implementing Executive Committee shall render their report to the Governor of Unity State who in turn shall send it to the State Assembly for approval, and back to the governor who will forward it to the State Supreme Court and the Commissioner of Guit County for execution.

Dear my young generation, God bless you hearing these honored advice, not from me as John Juan, but from your culture. Do not at all leave out the Church leadership from the solution I am proposing for Jikany elders to bring peace by themselves with the blessing of the Church and that sitting, or process are to be chaired by both respective Churches, Catholic and Protestant.

And accordingly, as PASSOVER is concerned, please Jikanykiir kaker, let us remember our grandfathers who built our culture. Are we to forget the struggles made by you as Gaatkiir-kaker throughout the southern struggles to be erased by petty illegal crime? Look back alone and read your mind when you are alone on bed at mid-night. Please stop killing yourselves. Let us forget the past. Let us re-unite with other communities in building our new land, and central, states and local governments. With great hope there shall be a respectful and honest committee of elders from your tribe who will faithfully finalize this issue once and for good. As people of Kiirkaker, I am sure you will observe matters keenly and focus on them. The successful result is for the interest of our beloved nation. Let us all resume planning how to build and how to live faithfully together as a nation of 64 tribes.

إخْوَتِي وأخِوَاتِي.  أبْنَائي وَبَنَاتِي. نَصِيْحَتِي لَكُمْ. وَالْتَكُنْ الأخْلاقُ الْحَمِيْدة حُلًتِكُمْ، فَصَاحِبِ الأخْلاقُ الَحَمِيْدَة أيْنَمَا يَكُنْ يَجِدُ الْرِزْقَ مُيَسًرَا

Proverbs 22:1. And when we are known as caring and good people, we will tend to meet others who value and share those traits “A good name is more desirable than great riches,” and “to be esteemed is better than silver or gold”

Thank you. God bless you all with your families.

God blessed the Government of South Sudan!

The author is an elder of the Jikany Community.

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