By Malek Arol Dhieu
My name is Joseph Yen Magot. I am an SPLA soldier. I was imprisoned on June 12th 2003 by the Government of Uganda on an accusation of killing five UPDF soldiers. 15 SPLA soldiers were killed by the UPDF soldiers and we ambushed them in retaliation, resulting in the killing of five UPDF soldiers. President Yoweri Museveni was claimed to have ordered Dr. John Garang to arrest the suspects and hand them over to the Ugandan government. So, two co-accused and I were handed over to the Ugandan government and detained for 7 years without trial or sentence.
In 2010, I was sentenced to 50 years in prison and my two co-accused were acquitted after being found innocent. In 2018, my 50-year sentence was reduced to 20 after an appeal. I was married at the time of my arrest and had a daughter, who, if alive, is 22 years old now. I had no access to my family and so, I do not know the whereabouts of my wife and daughter. I just got released 2 days ago by the Government of Uganda after spending 22 years in Arua Central prison. I was received at Arua Central Prison by South Sudanese Community Members in Uganda ahead of my journey to South Sudan shortly. Hope I will be received with open arms, joy, ululations and jingling voices at Juba International Airport.
A lot of things, both bad and good, happened when I was in prison. Dr. John Garang de Mabior, my then SPLA Commander-In-Chief, died in 2005. South Sudan got independence in 2011, and broke into war with herself in 2013. SPLA got changed to SSPDF. 32 states were created and reverted. Original borders of South Sudan encroached on. A market called Black Market was established and tasked with the regulation of the country’s economy. The then Chief of General Staff changed to Chief of Defence Forces. Schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, airports, airstrips, orphanages, prisons, churches and mosques built. And a number of things got done.
Here now I am. No education. No job. No house. No wife. No rank. Not in good health. Confused, shabby and old. Future at risk. What would the Government of South Sudan do to me? Those who were killed by the UPDF soldiers were not my relatives. They were my comrades in the liberation struggle and I obligatorily had to avenge them. My loyalty backfired me and I ended up being put behind bars for 22 years. I was not charged of treason. In the course of my stay in prison, I never betrayed my country, South Sudan. I rather die than betraying a country I shed blood for. South Sudan is imprinted on my heart.
When I was being taken to prison after the sentence, I borrowed Nelson Mandela’s famous quote at the Supreme Court of South Africa, “I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die”. Then tears of bravery began flowing down my cheeks as I was being dragged into prison cell.
Apart from integration into the army and promotion, I need trauma healing and rehabilitation. I badly need treatment. The 22-years’ imprisonment has inflicted on me, not only physical disorder, but also mental and social disorder. In prison, I lived life of a disowned person. I need to feel wanted. My future is at the greatest risk, and it is the responsibility of the country I have fought for to rescue me. I am a freedom fighter. I deserve recognition and special treatment.
Thank you for reading “Sowing The Seed Of Truth”.