What a sombre moment it was for me and Nyankuir Garang de Mabior, the daughter of the founding father of the Republic of South Sudan, Dr John Garang de Mabior. We visited her dad, a gallant freedom fighter at his resting place in Juba, South Sudan, on Friday.
The moment of laying wreaths on the tombstone of our esteemed struggle hero was heavy and overwhelming. I felt we owe a great debt to our forebears who laid their lives down for us to live in a liberated Africa.
Fearless freedom fighters in the mould of Garang de Mabior expect no less than perfect perfection from us. They expect us to live a life free from corruption, knowing that this resource, Africa, we hold in trust for future generations and generations to come.
Garang de Mabior, a developmental economist in his deepest sleep, must be yearning to see the Republic of South Sudan developing to a point where she occupies her rightful place in the countries of Africa in particular, and the globe in general, as a meaningful contributor to the world economy.
Garang de Mabior led the Sudan People’s Liberation Army from 1983-2005. He sadly met his untimely death on 30 July 2005, in a helicopter crash.
This is one of those journeys one undertook with feelings of sorrow and joy lumped all in one’s being.
It is an essential journey I undertook during this period when the people of South Sudan are themselves hard at work grindingly ticking the peace agreement boxes one after the other well knowing that they are timebound. I want to be here in the Republic of South Sudan when they go to a democratic election in 2024, as per the peace agreement.
I am beginning to smell the wonderful aroma of a democratic election on the horizon.
As I said on the occasion of my welcoming in August, the bond between the Republic of South Africa and the Republic of South Sudan is strong. I am here to make it even stronger.
We will continue sharing our experiences with the people of the Republic of South Sudan.
We fully comprehend the road the people of the Republic of South Sudan traversed to this date.
We too walked a similar journey.
I am sure that Garang de Mabior, as a developmental economist fought to liberate the people of South Sudan from the bondages of oppression so that they, too, can develop the Republic of South Sudan socio-economically to better the lives of her people, in particular, and those of Africa in general.
I thus paid respect to one of the greatest leaders of our continent.
May the revolutionary spirit of Dr John Garang de Mabior continue to rest in eternal peace.
- Adv Mahlodi Sam Muofhe is South Africa’s ambassador to South Sudan.
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