Page 46 - EVOLUTION OF THE SUDAN PEOPLE’S LIBERATION MOVEMENT(SPLM),

In 1958, though, the Southern Sudan did not participate in the process leading to independence;
the Transitional Government set the elections for a constituent Assembly to promulgate new
constitution to replace the British/Egyptians made interim constitution. The constituent Assembly

brought in the Umma party, National Unionist Party, NUP, and Southern Sudan’s Liberal party. On
formation of coalition government between Umma and NUP with the Liberal party represented,
no agreement was possible on the leadership of the government, Abdelah Khalil of Umma as
the prime minister or Ismail Al Azahry of the NUP. The Southern Sudanese members of the new

Constituent Assembly disagreed to a draft constitution, which tend to incorporate a centralized
system of government and Arab-Islamic national identity (HD2123.5 .Z8).

Southern members of the Liberal Party, led by Stanislaus Payasama in the constituent Assembly,
proposed federal constitution, compose of two federal states, North and South. They wanted

secular and liberal democratic African state. The parliament got divided over the formation of the
government and the new constitution. Since there was no further compromise on the stalemate
among the parties, the then prime minister, Abdullah Khalil, secretly invited the Sudan Army
to intervene and put down the crisis, specifically by imposing law and order in Southern Sudan

(Lam Akol, 51-57).

Thus, on 17 November 1958, Sudan Army (Northern Sudan Army), led by General Ibrahim
Abbuod, intervened in a bloodless coup, suspended the interim constitution and dissolved the

government and the constituent Assembly. The army leader, General Ibrahim Abdoud with his
military government decided to fight the South in all fields: militarily, socially, culturally,
politically and economically (Lam Akol, 75-80). The mission of the military government was
to convert the Southern Sudan to conform to Islam and Arabic language in order to agree to the
future Islamic constitution. Southern Sudan had no better option left, but to go to war for total

liberation of Southern Sudan (Lam Akol, 75-77). In support of this narrative, one respondent stated

“We could not accept this. An oppressive regime going to an extend of imposing a language and
a religion to us, people of South Sudan, that was too far and very unbearable. We could not sit
back and watch some insensitive government trample on our rights. A revolution for liberation

was born”(O1, Joseph Kolang John, Juba, 12/04/2017).

In the circumstances of being forced by the minority Arabs in Khartoum, to embrace their dominant
colonial-like rule, the Southern Sudanese decided to confront the military regime of General

Aboud. Majority of the former members of the dissolved constituent Assembly, intellectuals,
teachers, students, trade unionists, with the supported by soldiers, defected to Eastern Africa,
Congo Kinshasa and central Africa. Already the soldiers who mutinied and rebelled from Torit
Military Garrison were still at large in Eastern Africa, specifically in Uganda, Kenya and Congo.

These groups were now being joined for the purpose of fighting for total liberation of Southern
Sudan from the new colonial Arab government in Khartoum that claimed rhetoric independence
from the British and Egyptians in 1956 (Lam Akol, 80, 81).

In 1960s the Southern Sudanese in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Congo Kinshasa began to

organize themselves to form a political movement and a military wing for effective liberation
of Southern Sudan. Leading members of the dissolved Assembly, Fr. Saturnino Lohure, Joseph
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