06/09/2026
OPEN LETTER TO THE LEADERS AND ELDERS OF BAHR EL GHAZAL AND THE PEOPLE OF SOUTH SUDAN
Subject: An Urgent Appeal for Dialogue, Forgiveness, Reconciliation and Peace
To H.E. President Salva Kiir Mayardit,
To Gen. Paul Malong Awan,
To Gen. Nhial Deng, Nhial,
To our respected elders, leaders, intellectuals, women and youth of Greater Bahr el Ghazal,
And to the people of South Sudan,
I write this message with a deeply frustrated heart, but also with hope for peace.
Why has it become so difficult for us as South Sudanese to resolve our own differences before involving outsiders? Why can we not first sit together as brothers and sisters, speak honestly about our disagreements, acknowledge our mistakes, forgive one another, and find a way forward?
I am particularly appealing to the elderly men and women of Aweil, Warrap, Abyei, Lakes, and Western Bahr el Ghazal. You are the custodians of our history, culture and wisdom. I humbly ask you to consider calling a serious family meeting where our differences can be discussed openly and peacefully. Let us sit together as a family before our disagreements become another source of suffering for our people.
To our leaders,
H.E. President Salva Kiir Mayardit: I appeal to you as a leader and as a father. Where there have been misunderstandings, grievances and political disagreements, let forgiveness and dialogue have a chance. Extend your hand to those with whom you have differences and invite them to a genuine conversation.
Gen. Paul Malong Awan and Gen. Nhial Deng: I equally appeal to you. If you have concerns about the direction of our country, come forward and express them openly. If you believe that mistakes have been made, let us discuss those mistakes through dialogue rather than violence.
Why should it be so difficult for South Sudanese leaders to sit face-to-face and honestly tell one another where they believe they have gone wrong and where they have done right?
No leader is perfect. No politician is above criticism. But disagreement does not have to become hatred, and political competition does not have to become armed conflict.
A question to all of us;
Are we truly fighting for the suffering citizens of South Sudan, or are we sometimes allowing personal and political interests to come before the needs of our people?
Our people need peace. They need food, education, healthcare, roads, security and opportunities for their children. They do not need more hatred, division and violence.
As a citizen of South Sudan and a member of the Bahr el Ghazal community, I am asking myself: where is the national agenda in all this division?
Let us stop turning every political disagreement into a permanent conflict.
Stop the social-media rebellion. I also appeal to our people to reduce the political hostility on social media. Social media can be useful for communication, but it can also deepen divisions when we use it to insult, accuse and provoke one another. Let us stop fighting one another through social media and start talking to one another face-to-face.
If trust has been lost among our leaders, then let respected elders, religious leaders and other trusted South Sudanese help facilitate the conversation. But ultimately, peace must come from the willingness of the parties themselves to sit down and listen.
Let us come home and talk
If we truly care about South Sudan, let us accept opportunities for dialogue.
Let us acknowledge where we have made mistakes.
Let us forgive where forgiveness is possible.
Let us correct what can be corrected.
Let us protect our people from another cycle of violence.
South Sudan has suffered enough.
Bahr el Ghazal has suffered enough.
Our families have suffered enough.
We cannot continue creating hatred and division without asking ourselves who ultimately pays the price.
I therefore appeal to President Salva Kiir Mayardit, Gen. Paul Malong Awan, Hon. Nhial Deng, our elders, political leaders and all South Sudanese: please choose dialogue over confrontation and reconciliation over revenge.
History will judge all of us—not only by the positions we held, but by what we did when our people needed peace.
Let us give our children a different future.
Let us choose peace.
Let us choose forgiveness.
Let us choose reconciliation.
Let us choose South Sudan. 🇸🇸
One people. One nation. One future.
Cde. Ajok wol Atak.
