Roselyn Oneka is a renowned South Sudanese civil rights activist and human rights defender, author of this opinion. |File Photo|.
Thursday, 21 August 2025
By Roselyn Oneka
The recent appointment of Adut, the daughter of President Salva Kiir, by her own father should not shock us. For many of us who are younger but attentive to history, this is simply the continuation of a pattern that has plagued South Sudanese politics since the days of the regional government of Southern Sudan. Nepotism is not new; it is a recycled disease that has silently eaten away at our institutions and unity.
We saw this under the leadership of Dr. Lam Akol when he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. Instead of opening the diplomatic service to the most competent, many key ambassadorial positions were filled by his own relatives. Complaints were raised, but no corrective measures were taken. Similarly, Dr. Riek Machar has repeatedly elevated his inner circle above all others, treating allies as disposable once their usefulness was exhausted, while ensuring that his own kin remained in positions of influence. These are not isolated cases; they reflect a political culture where leadership is seen as a family inheritance rather than a public trust.
Today, President Salva Kiir follows the same path by appointing his daughter. And again, people are surprised. Yet, history shows us that nepotism has been the seed of division in South Sudan. During the era of the regional government, many elders—some of whom are still alive filled ministries and directorates with unqualified relatives. Educated professionals were sidelined, reduced to drafting documents and speeches for the very men and women who enjoyed the positions and privileges of office without merit. The resulting resentment led to bitterness, political fractures, and ultimately, deadly divisions.
The consequences were disastrous. The divisions of that period fueled Kokora, which cost lives across all regions—Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile, and Equatoria alike. It was a painful chapter that should have been a warning. Yet, instead of learning from it, we have repeated it, even after independence. The tragedy is that the greatest beneficiaries of our internal nepotism and division were not South Sudanese at all, but the Khartoum regime, which exploited our disunity to tighten its grip.
Dr. John Garang’s vision offered a break from this cycle. With his education and nationalist outlook, he united Southerners under the SPLM as a vehicle of liberation and healing. For a moment, hope triumphed over division. But even within the SPLM, nepotism and tribal favoritism re-emerged, fracturing families, communities, and regions, and unleashing atrocities committed not by the Arabs, but by South Sudanese against one another.
This is why the subject of nepotism is so uncomfortable. It is a history many are afraid to confront because the victims came from all sides. No one region was spared. Yet without confronting this bitter truth, reconciliation will remain elusive. We cannot rewrite history by silencing it. We cannot heal by pretending the wounds do not exist. Nepotism is not just a moral failing; it is a political poison that undermines unity, breeds mistrust, and fuels cycles of violence.
We may hate to admit it, but this is the truth. And if we are to build a South Sudan worthy of its sacrifices, we must have the courage to face it.
The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the position of this new outlet. The Golden Times provides equal space to genuine South Sudanese to express their independent views on the political, social, and economic matters in their country.
