By Prof. Jok Madut Jok
Why do we even bother? Does President Kiir ever weigh his words before speaking them? Does he have a communication team who helps him craft his public statements? Clearly, either he does not or they are all imbeciles!
That the President of South Sudan, in his Jonglei peace conference closing remarks would say ‘’I will maintain the small army and police around me.
I have decided that if any fighting erupts again I will not send any soldier or police. I will allow you to fight till the end,’’ tragic for the country and for his legacy as the steward of this country!
I’ve never heard a head of state talking in such defeatist language! With this, he is essentially withdrawing the state monopoly of the legitimate use of coercion to protect citizens! So now it’s up to the citizen to hold her ground and fight back when attacked by another, or run to Juba?
President Kiir really knows how to delegitimize his role! He really needs to initiate a program to end his leadership of this country, identifying his successor and handing over power in an orderly transition that will guarantee a semblance of legacy for him, or he eventually exit this mess under duress and in a disorderly fashion, after which he will have nothing left to salvage about his otherwise glorious liberation history.
What a shame, that such a hero could potentially end up going down in such a dishonorable way!