Opinion: Commemorating of the historic day of Torit Mutiny on August 18, 1955

Opinion: Commemorating of the historic day of Torit Mutiny on August 18, 1955

By Gai Mayen Luk

Today marks the 70th anniversary of the 1955 Torit Uprising which was the bedrock of the protracted armed liberation struggle that culminated into our Independence on July 9, 2011.

We remember with solemn respect and honor those brave soldiers who made a courageous decision to wage a spontaneous fight right inside the belly of the beast, with predominantly rudimentary weapons, when it became apparent that the British colonial regime had no intention of giving the people of the South their right to self-determination prior to the scheduled Independence date of January 1, 1956.

We pay a particular tribute to Daniel Jumi Tongun and Marko Rume who spearheaded this valorous campaign whose revolutionary fervor eventually spread like wildfire all over the South. The patriotic political leadership of the visionary cadres like Father Saturnino Lohure, Joseph Oduha, Aggrey Jaden, Gordon Muortat Mayen, William Deng Nhial, Emilio Tafeng among others can not go unmentioned while broaching this defining epoch of our history.

It was this decisive move which duly set in motion the Anya nya movement that shook the Khartoum based regime until Jaffar Mohamed Nimeiri was compelled to come to an agreement with General Joseph Lagu in 1972, giving us our first ever autonomous rule, albeit incomplete.

Against that backdrop, the South was in a position to prepare itself for a more intensified round of struggle under the visionary leadership of Dr. John Garang De Mabior, who ultimately succeeded in captaining us to the historic episode of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, whereupon we finally exercised our anticipated right to Self-determination in a referendum, and therefore Independence.

Much as our people still live like paupers today in their liberated country, thanks to the failed leadership of General Salva Kiir Mayardit which has lost vision, the mere fact that we have a place to call home and also experience the pardonable pride of a sense of belonging, can neither be overemphasized nor overlooked.

The responsibility still squarely lies with the resilient people of South Sudan who have fought against oppression and injustices for a period spanning two centuries now, dating back to the advent of the Ottoman rule in 1821, to shake off the current manacles of state capture by a small cabal of their own brothers-turned-oppressors.

There is no justification whatsoever today for our people, in their hard-earned country, to continue leading such an ignominous life which is only comparable to the indignity suffered by their forebears who had to sacrifice themselves with blood, tears and sweet, several decades ago for our sake.

Aluta Continua ✊🏾✊🏾

Cde. Gai Mayen Luk,
Member of SPLM-IO Political Bureau