Dedication
To the survivors, to the silenced, and to those still seeking justice — this book is for you.
// Close drawer on scroll (prevents content sitting "behind" it) let lastY = window.scrollY; window.addEventListener('scroll', () => { if (drawer.classList.contains('open')) { const dy = Math.abs(window.scrollY - lastY); if (dy > 10) { closeDrawer(); } } lastY = window.scrollY; }, { passive: true });Chapter 1 — The Dream of Independence
July 9, 2011. The streets of Juba erupted as the flag of the Republic of South Sudan rose into a bright sky. Independence was not just a political act; it was the culmination of generations of war, sacrifice, and resistance. Families danced, strangers embraced, and for a heartbeat the future felt certain.
Garang’s Vision and the Long Struggle
The architect of that dream was Dr. John Garang de Mabior. Founding the SPLM/A in 1983, he imagined a “New Sudan” built on equality and reform. Though not initially separatist, the movement he led held a deep undercurrent of Southern aspirations for freedom. Garang’s charisma and strategy kept the movement intact through famine, mutinies, and splits — including the 1991 Nasir split led by Riek Machar and Lam Akol — until his death in 2005.
The CPA and the Referendum
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of 2005 ended the long war with Khartoum and set a path to a referendum. The South voted overwhelmingly for secession in 2011. The world cheered; billions in aid and promises arrived. But state institutions were thin, accountability weaker, and corruption already taking root.
First Cracks
By 2012, President Kiir’s own letter accused 75 officials of stealing $4 billion. No prosecutions followed. Patronage deepened. The judiciary and parliament were subordinated to the presidency. Oil money funded security and villas, not schools and hospitals. The dream bent under its own weight.
Chapter 2 — The Rise of Kiir: Consolidation and Control
After Garang’s death, Salva Kiir moved from caretaker to consolidator. He built a presidency anchored in loyalty, not merit. The Tiger Division — his elite guard — answered directly to him. Courts and parliament were neutered.
Riek Machar: Ally and Target
Dr. Riek Machar, the Vice President, helped stitch together the early state and integrate armed groups, yet his popularity and reform calls made him a threat. By 2013 he declared he would challenge Kiir within the SPLM; soon after, Kiir dissolved the cabinet and sidelined rivals such as Pagan Amum and Rebecca Nyandeng.
Sidelining Nuer Officers
Senior Nuer officers — James Hoth Mai, Peter Gatdet Yak, Gatwech Dual, Koang Chuol — were removed or marginalized while Paul Malong Awan rose. The army’s character changed: national in name, factional in practice.
Testimonies
“Independence gave us a flag, but not a country.” — Youth activist, Juba
“We were told: protect the President from traitors. We asked who the traitors were. They said: you’ll know.” — Former Tiger Division soldier
Chapter 3 — The Slow Burn: Warning Signs Before the Fire
The catastrophe of December 2013 was not sudden. It was a slow burn of corruption, ethnic engineering, and political paranoia.
The SPLM Civil War Within
Kiir vs. Riek vs. Pagan vs. Rebecca — the party split into camps. The “75 thieves” scandal confirmed elite impunity. Security budgets ballooned while services collapsed. Checkpoints multiplied. Journalists were harassed. Rumors of “lists” spread.
Military Reshuffles
Nuer generals were sidelined; the Tiger Division expanded. Political debate gave way to whispered fear. In July 2013, Kiir dissolved the cabinet. The fuse was lit.
“We saw the fire coming. The leaders were pouring kerosene.” — Father Michael Ladu
Chapter 4 — The Night of Betrayal
December 15, 2013. Gunfire erupted in Juba after Nuer soldiers in the Presidential Guard were ordered to disarm. By dawn, door‑to‑door killings began across Gudele, Mangaten, Mia Saba, and New Site.
Malong’s Street War
General Paul Malong Awan deployed loyal units and militias. Soldiers used lists and ethnic profiling. Houses were marked. Bodies were dumped near Jebel and the Nile. Mass graves were later reported.
Hoth Mai’s Silence
James Hoth Mai — a Nuer and Chief of Staff — had returned to Juba two days earlier. He did not intervene. Whether sidelined or self‑silenced, his absence haunts survivors.
Names and Voices
- Dr. Jacob Lupai — physician, killed in front of his children.
- Simon Nyak Koryom — civil servant, executed at a checkpoint.
- Mary Nyaruach — raped and killed in Mangaten.
“They asked our names. My brother stepped forward. They shot him.” — Gudele survivor
Chapter 5 — Collapse of the Capital: Juba in Flames
By day four, the killing slowed — and the cover‑up began. Trucks removed bodies before dawn; others were dumped in the river. SSBC played patriotic music while families searched for missing loved ones.
UN Compounds as Cities
UNMISS bases in Tongping and Jebel became cities within a city — markets, schools, grief, and disease. Outside the gates, militias waited. Inside, memory mapped the dead.
Chapter 6 — The White Army Marches
The White Army — Nuer youth militias rooted in cattle‑camp defense — mobilized after news of the Juba killings. Columns advanced through Bor, Ayod, and Twic East toward Juba.
Uganda Intervenes
UPDF jets and helicopter gunships struck White Army columns. Despite losses, they pushed to Mongalla — within reach of the capital — before Riek Machar ordered a halt to prevent mass civilian bloodshed.
“We did not march for Riek. We marched for our dead.” — White Army fighter
Chapter 7 — International Silence, Selective Pressure
UNMISS struggled; some gates closed as crowds begged entry. The AU promised a Hybrid Court that has yet to materialize. Sanctions were narrow and inconsistently enforced. Arms still flowed through regional corridors.
Strategic Complicity
Uganda’s troops bolstered Kiir; Sudan maneuvered for leverage; Kenya became a banking and real‑estate haven. Quiet diplomacy prevailed over accountability — and silence served the killers.
Chapter 8 — The Business of War
Oil kept pumping. Revenues fed elite networks. Nilepet opacity, oil‑backed loans, ghost soldiers, private security contracts, and arms procurement through foreign intermediaries entrenched a war economy. Opposition commanders also taxed trade and diverted aid.
Lobbyists and Image Laundering
Registered lobbyists and PR firms abroad massaged the regime’s image, arguing sanctions would damage peace. Meanwhile, humanitarian access was taxed and manipulated.
Chapter 9 — The Cost of Silence
By 2016, hundreds of thousands were dead and millions displaced. PoC sites in Bentiu and Malakal swelled beyond design. Disease spread. Justice did not come. In Juba, victory parades rolled; in exile, funerals did.
Who Was Responsible
From Salva Kiir to Paul Malong, Marial Chanuong, Michael Makuei, and Ateny Wek — a circle of power orchestrated violence and denial. The price was paid by civilians, especially children who knew only war.
Chapter 10 — A Nation in Ruins
The war mutated. “Peace on paper” arrived by 2020, but distrust ruled. Currency collapsed, salaries vanished, and hunger became universal. Towns emptied; roads and clinics decayed. Elections slipped into the future as state capture hardened.
Chapter 11 — The Struggle for Justice in South Sudan
Accountability threatens the regime’s survival. Courts are subordinate; the promised Hybrid Court remains stalled. Survivors want recognition as much as trials.
Testimonies
“They knocked and asked who was Nuer. When my husband said yes, they shot him.” — Nyaluak M., Kakuma
“You cannot speak the truth and survive.” — Journalist, Nairobi
Chapter 12 — Memory, Resistance, and the Path Ahead
Memory resists erasure. Diaspora archives, youth poetry and podcasts, survivor networks — all keep truth alive. Real peace demands truth commissions, prosecutions, memorials, and honest curricula. Without that, the country is not post‑conflict; it is pre‑collapse.
Appendix A — Timeline of Events (1983–2025)
- 1983 — Second Sudanese Civil War; SPLM/A under Garang.
- 1991 — Nasir split; atrocities and retaliations across Upper Nile/Jonglei.
- 2005 — CPA signed; Garang dies; Kiir assumes SPLM leadership.
- 2011 — Independence; Kiir President; Machar Vice President.
- 2012 — Oil shutdown; Kiir’s letter on $4bn theft by 75 officials.
- 2013 (Dec.) — Juba massacre; war spreads to Bor, Bentiu, Malakal.
- 2014–2016 — UPDF intervenes; failed accords; J1 (2016).
- 2018 — R‑ARCSS signed; fragile power‑sharing.
- 2020–2025 — Delayed reforms; impunity persists; Machar restricted.
References & Sources (Selected)
- AUCISS (2015) — AU Commission of Inquiry Final Report; PSC communiqués.
- UNMISS HRD / UN Panel — Conflict‑related violations (2014–2024); Panel of Experts reports.
- Human Rights Watch / Amnesty — Massacres, sexual violence, impunity (2014–2024).
- The Sentry / Global Witness — Oil, kleptocracy, elite finance.
- Conflict Armament Research / HSBA — Arms flows; militia profiles.
- ICG / RVI — Political economy and conflict analysis.
- OCHA, UNHCR, MSF — Displacement and humanitarian data.