The ongoing bloodshed in Southern Sudan
reminds me of the crisis that hit Kenya in 2007/8 when elections that were
meant to be peaceful suddenly turned bloody.
From a distance, the scenes portrayed on the photos that first appeared
on the Twitter timeline of celebrated Kenyan Blogger cum media and government
critic Robert Alai must be the tip of the iceberg. The real picture and true
story can only be told by the innocent children, the defenseless mothers and
the clueless fathers caught in the mayhem in the youngest African state.
Without underestimating the brunt of the
effect of the crisis in South Sudan, only two people have the power and final
say in the crisis. These are Salva Kiir and his nemesis Riek Machar. Just like
the Kenyan situation, then, these two can determine whether the country that
Kenya saw come up on its feet will survive the turmoil or will be consumed by
it. Neither the AU nor the UN will help stop the crisis – not even with
sanctions. It’s up to the two guys – who in my view are neither honourable nor Excellencies
– to stop both the fighting and the humanitarian crisis that’s in South Sudan.
To do that, Machar needs to first of all
stop listening to Al Bashir of Sudan. Kiir on the other hand needs to stop
lending his ear to Museveni of Uganda. Both Museveni and Al Bashir have nothing
special to offer. Al Bashir is the reason South Sudan decided to go
independent! It is said that a neighbour with whom you fought over land cannot
assist you build a house on the same land after you’ve won against him! It’s
simple logic. Al Bashir would rather pray for anything else that South Sudan’s
peace.
Museveni on the other hand is unable to
contain Kony with his movement. The best he can do to a harmless and toothless
opposition led by Besijye is to harm it further. Though a Military man, he
seems to have lost all the military teachings and resorted to doing things with
‘his chest’ – no brain. Collectively, Museveni and Al Bashir are suspected to
be behind the plane crash that killed John Garang- the South Sudan liberator.
These two mean no good for South Sudan.
Secondly, the 2007/8 Kenyan case – though
slightly different – should provide enough lessons to South Sudan. The Kenyan case was fueled by both internal
and external forces – just like the South Sudan case. The Kenyan crisis was fueled along ethnic lines – South Sudan can’t claim otherwise. Neither IGAD,
AU nor UN could help solve the Kenyan case without the consent of the two men
at the helm. The earlier South Sudan leaders realize this, the better. There
are not enough roundtable meetings that can solve their crisis until when Riek
Machar and Salva Kiir agree by their own volition. There’s no need of spending
taxpayers’ money in hotels in Addis Ababa or Nairobi to solve a situation that
can be comfortably solved within South Sudan.
Otherwise, women, children and men alike
will continue being slain in South Sudan by fellow countrymen while the rest of
the world looks. External forces that include Uganda and Sudan will continue
enjoying the turmoil in South Sudan. Twitter activists will continue creating
hashtags and making them trend for weeks into months. Photos of the dead and
those in combatant clothing will continue hitting the online airwaves like
hurricanes. Nothing will be done. Nothing positive will be done, unless by
Salva Kiir and Riek Machar themselves. They have the key. They have the key to
a peaceful South Sudan.
Dennis
Shisia is a Nutrition and Dietetics Student at EgertonKe University and a
Socio-political commentator. He’s also the Chief Editor and Co-Founder of
Magazine Reel, an Online Campus Magazine
