21/12/2024
๐ฃ๏ธ ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฎ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ถ๐ถ๐ฟโ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ป. ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ด ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ด, ๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ?
๐๐: ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ธ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐
I woke up this morning and logged into my Facebookโs Wall as usual and saw the picture of Gen. Garang Mabil Deng published. Before I could read what was written above the picture of this great man, I almost collapsed. I thought it was another bad news. However, it was an article written by Gen. Aleu Ayieny Aleu in praise of Gen. Garang Mabil, published on Facebook Timeline of Dr. Thiik Yak Cithiik. I was relieved.
In fact, Gen. Aleu wrote what I have been thinking about for two years now. The question as to what can the SPLM- led government do to reward Gen. Garang Mabil Deng, while he is till alive, has not only been my question, but also from general public. Gen. Garang Mabil has been one of the few selfless living liberator I can never imagine.
Gen. Garang Mabil Deng is truly a nationalist of first order. In the aftermath to the formation of the then Government of Southern Sudan in 2005, Gen. Garang Mabil was left out both in the army and in the political arena, but he kept quite unshakenly. He never uttered any bad word against the government even when he saw men/women from other armed groups flourishing in the army he once defended from being destroyed by these groups.
Another thing Gen. Mabil did was to volunteer for the defense of Juba when he heard that the SPLM/A IO forces were marching on Juba, and was shot on his armed at Nile Safari. He then refused to go for treatment, but President Kiir gave orders for medical transfer and treatment of Gen. Garang in Kenya. He was unhappy about the senseless war that broke out between brothers and sisters, but he felt duty bound to defend the government in Juba.
We cannot mention how best Garang Mabil fought the successive Khartoum Regimes. One major battle he fought, was the attempt by the SPLA to capture Juba in 1990, under over all command of our hero Dr. John Garang de Mabior. Amongst the commanders, Gen. Garang Mabil was distinguished and exceedingly brave. After all, he doesnโt care how he is being treated today. It is hard and rare to see Gen. Garang Mabil complaining about himself, albeit he is not feeling well now and needed further treatment.
In nutshell, Gen. Garang Mabil is a social giant too. He took to burial almost every comrade that died since 2005. Garang Mabil always pay last respect to anyone that died and buried in South Sudan. He does this exceptionally, without regard to ethnicity/tribe, clan, sub-clan, section, sub-section or religious creed or political affiliation.
If there is any one person that has demolished tribal or sectional boundaries, then it is Garang Mabil undisputedly. In one similar event when he had to accompany the body of the late Hon. Gabriel Matur Malek on January 10th, 2021 aboard the Helicopter SSAF-104, Gen. Garang survived the crash together with all those onboard while crashed-landing in Cueibet, Lakes State.
I believe God saved everyone onboard because of Garang Mabil. God also loves those who were onboard with him during the crash, but God did not want to let Garang Mabil dies like that. He always had good intention and can hardly miss single burial and funeral. I am inspired by Gen. Garang Mabil social connectivity. I can confirm that I also make sure I attend any funeral so long I get the information, albeit I hardly attend burial because I get emotional. Nevertheless, I still fall back behind Garang Mabil on this exceptional traits.
Lastly, I am amazed by Garang Mabilโs energy even when he is at his 70s years of age. Last week, I was told he (Garang) travelled to Aweil to es**rt the body of a friend, and was told that Hon. Gen. Maker Thiong Maal has passed on. So, he had to travel by road from Aweil to pass Juba for Bor to attend the burial of the late Ustaz Maker Thiong Maal. In the same week, he had to travel to Tonj to attend the burial of uncle Chief Malek Akuien who also died in Juba - aged 100 years old.
Moreover, Garang Mabil doesnโt care about the age of the person that is reported to have passed on. He can attend, anytime anywhere. He is so much loved by people, young and old. So, I am requesting H.E President Kiir to consider Garang Mabil for the position that will let him do public relation for the President. It is ridiculous if, like usual we wait for his death to pay Million dollars for his funeral. I know, if Garang Mabil is to pass on (God forbid) it would be a disaster for the whole country. He must be shown how we love him now, while he lives on. Otherwise, Garang Mabil would be an asset neglected.
The author is the former Press Secretary in the Office of the President and the views expressed in this article are his own. He could be reach at email address; [email protected]