A book review by Garang Kuir.
On Saturday the 3rd of February 2024, I had the honour of introducing Brigadier General Jurkuch Barach Jurkuch Barach Yaak during a lively and exciting welcoming party organised by members of his Pawiir clan and Ayual community in Melbourne. While visiting relatives and friends, Gen Jurkuch Barach was also in Melbourne to promote his recently published memoir of the SPLM/A war of liberation.
Gen Jurkuch Barach has written an incredibly engrossing account of his lived experiences in the war of liberation fought by the SPLM/A between 1983 and 2005 in a book entitled “My Participation in National War of Liberation 1984-2005”, which was published by the Africa World Books. To many people within the SPLM/A and across South Sudan and especially to the Jesh Ahmer (Red Army), Gen Jurkuch Barach needs no introduction. He was the famed manager of Pinyudo Refugee Camp who, in 1989, took over the reins of management of Pinyudo Camp from General Pieng Deng Kuol, another famed manager whose heroics averted the catastrophic loss of Jesh Ahmer to rampant diseases and mass starvation. The two generals including all the teachers, SPLA soldiers who provided protection, and the health workers who nursed the sick and comforted the dying, occupy a special place in the hearts of the Jesh Ahmer fraternity.
Coincidently, the two generals have written absorbing accounts of their management of the Jesh Ahmer in Pinyudo and their combat roles in the frontlines as SPLA commanders. Gen Pieng Deng’s account is recorded in the “Warriors from Abyei in the Liberation of South Sudan” edited by Dr Francis Mading Deng, also published by the Africa World Books.
In his book, arranged in almost chronological order, Gen Jurkuch Barach narrates with a remarkable coherence the drudgeries of the liberation war right from the moment he left Malakal on the 6th of March 1984 to join the embryonic SPLM/A guerilla to the very day the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed, ending the Africa’s longest running civil war. In 1981, three years before he could join the SPLM/A, Gen Jurkuch Barach had graduated from an Egyptian university with a bachelor’s degree in commerce, an advanced training that I believe prepared him for various administrative roles he admirably accomplished as a soldier, officer, administrator, and diplomat during the SPLM/A’s war of liberation.
For example, he was temporarily assigned as a regimental sergeant major during his military training in Bonga whereupon graduation he was commissioned a 1st Lieutenant responsible for logistics and later the command of the second company of Bilpam Battalion of Koryom Division 2, a logistician during the important battles of Jekou, Pibor and Magwi, an effective manager of both Pinyudo Refugee and Ame Displaced People’s Camps, a diligent representative of the Movement to Egypt and the Middle East, and after independence, a commissioner of the De-mining Authority of the Government of South Sudan after having replaced General Aleu Ayieny Aleu in 2004.
From reliable accounts of those closest to the SPLM/A leadership, Jurkuch Barach’s appointment to the chairmanship of De-mining Commission of the Movement was widely believed to have triggered the unfortunate bitterness and rumour-mongering attributed to Gen Aleu Ayieny Aleu that caused a rift in the SPLM/A leadership known as the 2004 Yei Crisis, a near catastrophic showdown between Dr John Garang, the late leader of the SPLM/A and his deputy, General Salva Kiir (the current President of the Republic of South Sudan) that could have destroyed the Movement and squandered gains including the signing of CPA.
Battle fronts
Gen Jurkuch Barach is a decorated SPLA officer, administrator, and diplomat. This is the story he recounts in the book with unrivalled storytelling ability. Upon graduation from Bonga Training Centre, 1st Lieutenant Jurkuch Barach was involved in operations that led to the fall of Pibor to the SPLA forces. More importantly, the battle of Jekou in which Gen Jurkuch Barach had the vital role of coordinating military logistics and was also involved in active combat, is narrated, and analysed with an eagle-eyed (critical) appraisal because of its disastrous outcome. Gen Jurkuch Barach recounts how Kerubino Kuanyin Bol, the Deputy Commander of the SPLA/SPLM with mind-boggling recklessness put thousands of SPLA troops in harm way in a futile attempt to capture at all costs Jekou, a small town of questionable military strategic importance. Out of around 6,000 SPLA troops of the Second Division of Koryom (5 Battalions) amassed around Jekou town, opposed to approximately 500 soldiers of a well-armed and entrenched enemy, the SPLA lost hundreds if not thousands of its men in 50 days of continuously engaging the enemy in assaults and raids.
The massive loss of fighting force at Jekou is still rued by the SPLA/M to this day. Lieutenant Colonel Kerubino Kuanyin Bol was mindlessly obsessed with victory at all costs; thus, a preoccupation with humiliation of defeat led him to order waves after waves of assault on the enemy’s defensive position with devastating consequences for the SPLA forces. The SPLA/M needlessly lost significant numbers of its manpower in its pursuit of elusive victory in Jekou. After acrimonious failures at Jekou battlefields, the SPLA forces under the command of Commander Kerubino Kuanyin turned against each other. Some of the soldiers of Koryom Battalions were accused of subversive activities. Curiously, all the 25 soldiers accused of plotting a “coup” were from the former Bor District. The costs in term of lives lost and the internal disharmony that resulted from failures of operations in Jekou could have led to some leaders (e.g., Martin Majier Gai) to recommend to the leadership of the Movement that SPLA units should be deployed to fight in their home district, a suggestion which the Movement utterly rejected. I remember the anguish when news of our relatives killed in action at Jekou reached home.
In the battles of Jekou, Major Kuol Manyang Juuk, a deputy of Major Wilson Kur Chol of Bilpam Battalion was wounded, so was the gallant 2nd Lieutenant Manyok Barach Atem (who died in February 2021 as a Major General in the SPLA). Gen Jurkuch Barach recounts the bravery of General Kuol Manyang Juuk at Jekou, which caught the attention of Commander Kerubino Kuanyin. Major Kuol Manyang would later become the overall commander of Bilpam Battalion after Major Wilson Kur Chol was wounded in the chest and was evacuated for medical treatment. Also in the book, Gen Jurkuch Barach recounts his other military engagements. These include the battle of Magwi where he and his comrade Rin Mabor Tueny (the current governor of Lakes state) narrowly escaped death when their rebellious SPLA comrades aligned with Lieutenant Colonel William Nyuon Bany captured Magwi following his rebellion at Pageri on September 28, 1992.
Alternate Commander Jurkuch Barach’s forces would be reinforced by the SPLA Mainstream forces recalled from around Juba led by Commanders Pieng Deng Kuol, Mach Paul Kuol, Dhieu Aleu Anyang, and Dhieu Warabek Ayuel. He also narrates how the enemy bypassed his SPLA force’s ambushes at Rewihito and Kerkomoge, which led to the recapture of Kapoeta by the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) enemy in 1992. The author once again recounts the battles bravely fought by Commander Dr Majak D’Agot Atem in Bunio, the last line of SPLA’s defence of the South Sudan-Kenya border, Gen Oyai Deng Ajak at the battle of Ashwa Bridge, Gen James Hoth Mai at the Boh Bridge in Western Equatoria, and the resolute defence of Boma by forces led by Gen Kuol Dim Kuol.
Camps management
Gen Jukuch Barach narrated a story during the book promotion in Melbourne how Dr John Garang praised his extraordinary efforts in management of food resources. Dr John Garang de Mabior, the leader of the SPLM/A was quoted to have said that there were two important things he was yet to acquire for his Movement: a gun that fires itself and a person who could efficiently and effectively distribute food rations. He later remarked in one of his many rallies that he has found a person who could efficiently distribute food rations in the person of Jurkuch Barach. This was a praise of the highest order! Jurkuch Barach is well-known for his efficient management of the logistics of the SPLA and later the management of the camps he was assigned to manage. His efficient management of Pinyudo Refugee Camp was a shining example.
Hitherto, in his ardent efforts to fill the big shoes left by Pieng Deng Kuol, a liberation figure the Jesh Ahmer adored, Jurkuch found himself at odds with the Jesh Ahmer who accused him in a light-hearted song of hard labour – making them pound their maize meals in addition to the acquisition of building materials (grass thatch, timber poles, and ‘apiath’ ropes) for the construction of their dormitories and school classrooms. He has narrated the origins of the Jesh Ahmer’s song in the book. The Jesh Ahmer obviously intended no malice in their song, only expressed their grievance to a sympathetic authority, a form of freedom of expression/speech the Nilotic people are renowned for. A Dinka or Nuer person who feels aggrieved by a chief does not hold back in expressing his displease to the chiefly authority in his presence. Gen Jurkuch Barach’s management of the Pinyudo Camp was nothing but superb. By 1991, Pinyudo Camp was a vibrant educational hub for the Jesh Ahmer.
Because of his well credentialled resources management, Jurkuch Barach after the battle of Magwi where he escaped death was convinced by Gen Kuol Manyang Juuk to take over the management of Ame Displaced People’s Camp from Maker Deng Malou. Curiously, the leadership team of the Ame Camp that he assembled included some of his colleagues at Pinyudo such as Alier Ayom Aluong and Ustaz Mayen Ngor Atem and others, namely, Isaiah Chol Aruai Barach and Maker Lual Kuol. The appointment of Jurkuch Barach to Ame Camp managership was a sure means to sustainable war logistics because he ensured that food rations provided by the UN agencies was surreptitiously shared with the SPLA forces, providing vital logistics to SPLM/A’s war fronts in Eastern Equatoria and around Juba. Therefore, Dr John Garang’s generous praise of Jurkuch Barach was justified.
Diplomatic positing
Jurkuch Barach’s diplomatic posting as the Movement’s representative to Egypt and the Middle East is a curious read that gives a reader a glimpse into the SPLM/A’s diplomatic affairs. His lack of accreditation papers to present to the Egyptian authorities highlighted the insufficiencies of guerilla movements such as the SPLM/A. Despite this initial hiccup, he performed his diplomatic positing with skilful tact and diligence.
Commentaries of major events during the war
Jurkuch Barach writes with authenticity borne out of lived experiences. He has described in sufficient details the harshness of military training at Bonga contrasted with an agreeable military training in Cuba ; the haphazard evacuation of South Sudanese refugees from Itang Refugee Camp, which he contrasts with the orderly evacuation of the Unaccompanied minors (Jesh Ahmer) and refugees at Pinyudo under his leadership; the disastrous drownings at Gilo River crossing; the harrowing hunger at Pochalla and his tireless efforts in averting mass starvation; his near-miss incident at Golkur involving Red Cross plane dropping food items in which the pilot misjudged and missed the drop zone missing Jurkuch Barach and members of his Camp management team by whiskers, but unfortunately killed three Jesh Ahmer; the Anyuak militia attack of Pochalla; and the Ethiopian forces’ attack and capture of Pochalla, which led to the plea of Pinyudo returnees. He describes all events in sufficient details and clarity.
Gen Jurkuch Barach’s commentaries and analyses of major historical events during the SPLM/A’s liberation war is unbiased and balanced. He, for example, describes some of the failures of the SPLA in battles with rare honesty and frank assessment, acknowledging insufficiencies of their armament, combat experience of SPLA fighting forces, and poor and uncoordinated command of fight forces by their SPLA officers. In contrast, Dr Lam Akol in his book, “SPLM/SPLA: Inside an African Revolution” does not acknowledge and accept these shortcomings in some of his military failures in the Northern Upper Nile Command but instead apportions blames on Dr John Garang, the leader of the Movement. In his book, Dr Lam Akol goes as far as questioning (expediently quoting Major Arok Thon Arok) combat and command experience of Dr John Garang. Whereas Jurkuch Barach in his book, has cited numerous instances where Dr John Garang was in command or closely supervised operations that resulted in major victories of the SPLA in the battlefields. He attributes Lam Akol’s uncandid assessment of SPLM/A’s shortcomings to his leadership ambitions. These ambitions led to the unfortunate Nasir Declaration of August 28th, 1991. So, the claim that there was a calm before the storm in the SPLM/A is not true. The SPLM/A has been in stormy waters from the get-go.
Jurkuch Barach’s story and that of Pieng Deng’s in the Warriors from Abyei are important contributions to the history of the liberation Movement. Lived experiences of those who physically participated in war fronts have been few, so the timely publication of Jurkuch Barach’s book is a much-appreciated effort by an SPLA/M veteran. He has meticulously recorded events that included crucial dates happenings in his journey occurred, a documentation that will be vital in the writing of the SPLM/A’s war of liberation by historians. This is a must-read book and I highly recommend it. In my humble opinion, the title of “My participation in National War of Liberation” does not do justice to the rich and enthralling account this book is. A suggested title of “In the battlefronts of the liberation war in South Sudan: a memoir of an SPLM/A officer and diplomat” would capture the essence of the book.