03/10/2025
A MALICIOUS AND SUBJECTIVE MISCHARACTERISATION OF COMMUNITY DEFENDERS: A RESPONSE TO PROFESSOR JOK MADUT JOK
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It is deeply disheartening when a renowned academic like Professor Jok Madut Jok begins viewing communities such as Bor through an ethnic lens. I have always held Professor Jok to a high standard and maintained elevated expectations for his scholarly work.
Researchers of his calibre should remain objective and factual when making public statements. Given his training as an anthropologist and his extensive research focus on violence, conflict, and warfare, he is well-positioned to understand what constitutes and what does not constitute a rebellion. According to established international standards and available literature, a community youth group like the Red Belt does not meet the criteria that define a rebellion.
In his recent Facebook post dated October 2nd, 2025, Professor Jok appears to be intentionally adopting the perspective of a layperson susceptible to misinformation from social media propagandists. A researcher who has positioned himself as an expert on conflict and warfare in South Sudan should have seized this opportunity to educate the nation by clearly distinguishing between a rebellion and a communal youth defence group. Unfortunately, he has chosen instead to mislead the public and align himself with malicious actors who seem determined to orchestrate the destruction of the Jieng Bor community.
For readers who may question the dishonesty displayed here by the professor, I recommend examining a research article he co-authored in 2018 with Hannah Wild and Ronak Patel, titled "The militarisation of cattle raiding in South Sudan: how a traditional practice became a tool for political violence," published in the Journal of International Humanitarian Action. In this article (Wild et al., 2018), Professor Jok and his co-authors discuss groups such as Titweng, Gelweng, and the White Army as communal militias defending their communities. Notably, they did not categorise these groups as rebels and even went so far as to distinguish the White Army from the SPLM-IO.
If this is not malicious intent and deliberate dishonesty, why would Professor Jok label the Red Belt as rebels when he is fully aware that this community youth group does not meet the established criteria for rebellion? Furthermore, a single incident between security unit, an agency known for its heavy-handed treatment of civilians throughout South Sudan, and some members of the Red Belt cannot be used to brand these communal defenders as rebels.
Such unfortunate incidents between security forces and community groups are commonplace across South Sudan, including in Professor Jok's own region. Yet there has never been an instance where the professor has publicly labelled any of these groups as rebellions. Here are a few examples:
1. Tonj East County, Warrap â 8â10 Aug 2020: Disarmament operation in Romich turned into heavy fighting between the SSPDF and Luach Jol/Thiik armed youth (âGelwengâ). Where 127 people died, 45 soldiers and 82 civilians. âNO ONE LABELLED THIS INCIDENCE REBELLIONâ
2. Tonj North & Tonj South, Warrap â SeptâOct 2020 (spill-over from the above): Youth ambushed reinforcement convoys, at least 16 soldiers killed (local authorities). âNO ONE LABELLED THIS INCIDENCE REBELLIONâ
3. Cueibet County, Lakes â 9 February 2022: Security forces and civilians clashes in Lake State killing 6. âNO ONE LABELLED THIS INCIDENCE REBELLIONâ
4. Abyei Administrative Area (bordering Warrap) â 1 - 3 Mar 2013: Misseriya and Ngok-Dinka youth militias jointly attacked a SudanâSouth Sudan joint unit at Kiir/Bahr el-Arab crossing, killing 5 SPLA personnel. âNO ONE LABELLED THIS INCIDENCE REBELLIONâ
5. Rumbek Centre, Lakes â 8 March 2013: Gelweng youth stormed Pan-Akuach SPLA barracks after soldiers killed a civilian. Two soldiers and one youth died; armoury looted. âNO ONE LABELLED THIS INCIDENCE REBELLIONâ
6. Cueibet County, Lakes â 13 January 2013: SPLA soldiers and civilians clashes in Lake State killing 10. âNO ONE LABELLED THIS INCIDENCE REBELLIONâ
7. Cueibet County, Lakes â 9 November 2015: Youth retaliated against an SPLA search-and-disarm patrol; 5 soldiers killed and wounded 11. âNO ONE LABELLED THIS INCIDENCE REBELLIONâ
8. Rumbek North, Lakes â 11 May 2015: Armed youth ambushed an SPLA truck escorting disarmament team at Bar-Naam bridge; 12 soldiers killed, truck burned. âNO ONE LABELLED THIS INCIDENCE REBELLIONâ
9. Western Bahr Naam County, Western Lakes State â 18 September 2019: South Sudan armed forces clashed with armed youth in Maleng-Agok Town in Western Bahr Naam County. âNO ONE LABELLED THIS INCIDENCE REBELLIONâ
10. Gogrial East, Warrap â 10 July 2021: Apuk-Padoc youth attacked SSPDF 3rd Division detachment at Akon, protesting alleged harassment; 6 soldiers killed. âNO ONE LABELLED THIS INCIDENCE REBELLIONâ
11. Warrap State â 1 May 2025: Civilians Disarm SSPDF Soldiers in Ngapagok, Warrap State. âNO ONE LABELLED THIS INCIDENCE REBELLIONâ
Dr. Ajak Duany Ajak (PhD).
