Speaking over the weekend at the funeral of General Biar Ajang, also known as Biar Aswad, General Garang Mabil expressed doubts about the party’s current direction and commitment to the revolutionary ideals that defined the SPLM during its fight for independence.
He suggested the party has strayed far from its roots, leaving many veterans uncertain about its true identity.
“I don’t know if the SPLM is still alive because the current SPLM is not that SPLM which existed before independence,” Mabil remarked. “This is just a cocktail from where, and where. Even Nyani’s [rebel children] children are there, why not put them to be the children of the SPLM if you people are real revolutionaries?”
Mabil, who played a crucial role in the country’s liberation struggle, expressed his disappointment with the direction the party has taken since South Sudan gained independence. He questioned the leadership’s decision to marginalize original members of the movement who, according to him, made significant sacrifices during the war for independence.
“Now, you came and left us out, and put yourself in the front. Until when will we respect you people? We respected you when we were in the bush,” Mabil added, referring to the years of guerrilla warfare against Sudan’s government.
The general also criticized the SPLM government under President Salva Kiir Mayardit for failing to uphold early agreements made during the struggle, particularly regarding the welfare of the army and the families of martyrs.
“The first agreement we made in Rumbek when we came, was that for six years, there shall be no salaries for the army. Only the army shall have food, and the salary be given to the families of martyrs. Did you do that?” Mabil questioned, emphasizing his belief that had the agreement been honored, “every family of a martyr would have a small house.”
Mabil’s comments come at a time when South Sudan is grappling with an economic crisis triggered by the civil war that began in December 2013. The conflict has led to severe inflation, with the local currency, the South Sudan Pound (SSP), now trading at over 5,000 SSP per US dollar on the black market.
This economic hardship has fueled discontent among many, including war veterans such as Mabil, who has at times refused to serve in President Salva Kiir Mayardit’s government. In 2021, he notably turned down an appointment as a gubernatorial advisor for Warrap State.
Mabil called out prominent SPLM figures, urging them to convene an emergency meeting to address the party’s direction. He warned that the discontent among veterans like himself could lead to significant unrest if their concerns are not addressed.
“We have children like you. If you enter our hearts, you people who are here will not sleep. This year, we will not give you a rest, and we must talk to you the way we know,” Mabil declared, emphasizing the need for the party to return to its revolutionary roots.
For his part, SPLM Secretary-General Peter Lam Both defended the current administration and deflected blame for the country’s challenges onto earlier leadership, which he said was mainly composed of pre-independence war veterans.
“If you remember, from 2005 up to 2013, the government of South Sudan had so much resources. Some publications said we had $20 billion between those years. And the people who were in the government, who were responsible for development, were all the liberators of our country, some of whom are sitting around here,” Both said.
He questioned the accountability of those who led during the prosperous years, asking, “So, if we did not do anything in those good years, who are we blaming? Who do we really blame? Is it those who have inherited the disaster, or those who started the disaster?”
General Mabil’s remarks reflect growing discontent among some of the country’s veteran fighters, who feel sidelined by the current political elite in Juba.
In 2021, former defense minister Kuol Manyang Juuk lamented the government’s failure to deliver essential services since 2005, pointing out that the SPLM-led administration had failed to build schools, roads, and hospitals for the people.
“Since July 2005, when the government of Southern Sudan was formed, what have we done? We didn’t build schools, we didn’t build good houses for our people, we didn’t construct roads and hospitals. We have destroyed the government by ourselves. We killed ourselves, we hate ourselves, and this is a challenge that we have now made,” he added.
Daniel Awet Akot, another deputy head of the SPLM, stated during a meeting of the Jieng Council of elders in March 2021 that President Salva Kiir is mentally incapacitated and lacks the capacity to serve the citizens of the world’s youngest country and also accused some unnamed junior officers in the SPLM and the army of sabotaging and undermining the efforts of senior party members.
“When we call for leadership meetings, we discuss nothing about development, about the vision of the SPLM. We discuss nothing about how to move this country forward. We discuss only our own affairs. We are always quarrelling and on our necks about small issues,” Akot said.
“People look at us as the cause of their problem. Yes, we are the problem, and which is what I have always said that if we are the problem, let all of us step down, including comrade Salva, and let someone with energy like Nhial Deng take over,” he added.
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