Page 84 - EVOLUTION OF THE SUDAN PEOPLE’S LIBERATION MOVEMENT(SPLM),

political future placed at the mercy of western donors and regional agencies such as IGAD/AU
for survival. As Cabral had noted, a national liberation is a revolutionary process that involved a
complete overthrow of imperialist domination and other forms of neo colonialism. Implicitly, the

national liberation involves carrying out a national democratic revolution and transformation,
which is not the case with South Sudan. Indeed, the lack or failure to undertake basic social
tasks and responsibilities such as provision of water, education and health services in urban
areas including Juba speaks volume about betrayed hopes and aspiration in addition to the true

meaning of national liberation.

The frequent outbreaks of civil wars, communal conflicts, state failure and weak structures of
governance suggests that the nationalist project remains a pipe dream day after as the day before
elsewhere in Africa. In other words, the SPLM has failed to promote wellbeing of its citizens

and members through poor leadership and choice of economic policy. After years of waging war
against the Khartoum regime, the movement has equally failed to overcome economic, social
and political backwardness. The SPLM as the authentic voice of the people of South Sudan was
supposed to take major political and economic decisions to address colonial legacy, internal

political decay, political instability and polarization among other factors associated with state
failure.

The SPLM witnessed series of wars from 2013 with recurrent phases triggered by traditional

grievances evident from 1983. Factional fights and elite power struggle at every turn and growth
of the movement is a pointer to lack of a coherent ideology or reasons of engaging in armed
struggle. Furthermore, the SPLM as the authentic voice of the people of South Sudan prioritized
the military over the political goals of the war. More often than not, the movement did not
have clear goals and objectives of the national liberation struggle. For example, the national

conventions called by the National Liberation Council after the end of the cold war did not address
the political and social direction the movement ought to take beyond seeking elite cohesion and
reconciliation that failed as soon as any agreement was reached or signed. On the contrary, the

focus was on elite power struggle plans and how to get power or retain it without altering the
status quo. Immediately after political independence in 2011, the high expectation of the people
was about economic reconstruction and social transformation. One respondent stated the following
in agreement with the narrative;

“At this period immediately after gaining political independence, we the citizens were expecting
to have a government that is conscious of our social needs, formed. We expected a government
that will change what we had being seeing before; tribalism, corruption and biased agenda. We
expected to see strategies towards economic transformation put in place and implemented”.(O1,
David K. Deng, Juba, 16/03/2016).

The people of South Sudan hoped that insecurity; refugees, infrastructure, education, health
and political stability would be realized. In other words, better lives for all as promised by the
SPLM as peace dividend. The increased corruption, abuse of power, nepotism and betrayal by the

political leadership resonated with Fanons forewarning about the pitfalls of national conscious
ness and Cabals evident dangers of the failure by the petty bourgeoisie to commit class suicide

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