03/04/2025
Beyond Peace: The Long War to Dismantle Nuer Centralized Power in South Sudan
By : Jacob Okello
The South Sudanese crisis is often misunderstood. What has been presented as a struggle to implement peace is, in truth, a long-term strategy to destroy the centralized political and military power of the Nuer (Naath)—the only community capable of challenging the entrenched Dinka hegemony.
A Conflict Beyond Peace Deals
Contrary to official narratives, the conflict is not about Riek Machar, power-sharing, or the slow implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement. It is about weakening a historical force of resistance—the Nuer people. Their unity, military discipline, and collective political memory pose a threat to Dinka-centered statecraft. This makes them a prime target for fragmentation.
Since independence, a systematic campaign has been waged to dilute Nuer influence. The 2013 Juba massacre marked the beginning of a calculated effort to destabilize their structure, and what followed was a sophisticated method of internal sabotage.
Dinka Hegemony’s Strategy: Divide and Deploy
The ruling Dinka elite has realized that they cannot defeat the Nuer militarily or ideologically. Therefore, they shifted the battlefield: from open war to psychological and political manipulation. The state machinery has actively used co-opted Nuer elites such as Taban Deng G*i, Ezekiel L*l Gatkuoth, and Riek G*i Kok to project division and confuse the national and international perception of Nuer unity.
These figures were not elevated because of merit or loyalty to national ideals—they were strategically empowered to serve the agenda of the Dinka elite. Their role has been to weaken the Nuer from within, give the illusion of Nuer division, and erode the legitimacy of the genuine resistance—not because of Riek Machar’s leadership, but because of the existential threat posed by Nuer cohesion itself.
The Illusion of Leadership Disputes
While some blame the fragmentation of Nuer forces on disagreements around Riek Machar’s leadership, the truth is deeper. The core of Nuer unity is not based on any one man—it is cultural, historical, and spiritual. The internal disunity has been manufactured through deliberate state strategies, bribery, promises of power, and foreign influence. Those like Taban and Ezekiel are not the cause of division—they are the tools of it.
The Dinka project understood early that to maintain unchallenged dominance, the Nuer must be neutralized not through battle, but through co-option and manipulation. This is the same colonial tactic used in Africa for centuries—rule through native informants.
Kiir’s Foreign Reliance and Museveni’s Calculation
President Kiir has long depended on external forces to protect his rule, most notably Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni. During the height of the war, Museveni’s military intervention was not about peacekeeping—it was about maintaining Kiir’s grip on power and ensuring Uganda’s access to economic and political leverage in South Sudan.
Museveni is not ignorant of South Sudan’s internal dynamics. He fears only one force: the united Nuer. Their historical defiance, deep cultural cohesion, and refusal to be conquered are well-known in the region. Supporting Kiir, therefore, is a strategy to suppress the only community that would never allow Uganda to dominate South Sudan.
Conclusion: What Peace If It Means Disempowerment?
Let us be honest: South Sudan is not on a path to peace—it is on a path to elite consolidation of power through fragmentation of resistance. The Nuer are not the problem; they are the target. Until this truth is accepted, any agreement signed in Addis Ababa or Juba will be used as a weapon, not a solution.
Peace must not come at the price of dismantling a community’s strength. The Nuer deserve justice, not manipulation. South Sudan deserves true unity, not unity imposed by those who fear a balanced state.
Only when the political system treats strength as a foundation for partnership—not a threat—can we begin to heal.
NOTE:
Pictured Below was a Guek Ngundeng B**g Chan, the first Nuer General killed in the battlefield in 1927 by the British troops in Wec Deng, Nyirol County, Jonglei State.
