The situation in Gambella has been made more difficult for the Prime Minister largely due to the failure of Nuer Members of Parliament, both at the federal and regional levels, to fulfill their responsibilities. While Anyuak leaders—under figures such as Omot and Alemitu have openly promoted violence aimed at removing the Nuer from Ethiopia, Nuer MPs have remained largely silent for far too long.
This is a political and constitutional matter that should have been confronted decisively in Parliament. Ethiopia’s constitution does not grant land ownership to any ethnic group, nor does it allow any group to deny another Ethiopian the right to nationality or life. Yet these principles have been repeatedly violated, particularly against the Nuer community in Gambella.
When Nuer civilians are killed and perpetrators face no accountability, Nuer MPs respond not with firm political action but with social media posts calling for “peace,” as though the Nuer were the aggressors.
Everyone in Gambella knows who does not want peace. For extremist Anyuak factions, peace means a Gambella without Nuer—politically, demographically, and socially.
Such a vision implies a future Gambella Parliament without Nuer representatives and even a federal government without Nuer voices from the region. This reality is something many Nuer MPs, including Deputy Defence Minister Thomas Tut Puok Chan, have failed to grasp or address.
While killings of Nuer civilians remain fresh, Tut publicly argued that ‘removing leaders would not
Facebook Post By Thomas Tut Puk
solve the problem but let just find what killed the giraffe.” This position ignores the immediate reality on the ground. His silence when the ENDF was allegedly used to attack Nuer communities in places like Makhot severely damaged the trust previously placed in him. Many now view this as political numbness at best and betrayal at worst.
Nuer have long served Ethiopia with bravery, particularly in the national military. That history is part of why figures like Tut were elevated to high office. Yet Nuer MPs failed to leverage that trust when it mattered most. If a Nuer regional president had invited the ENDF to fight the Anyuak civilians, that leader would have faced instant removal due to pressure from Anyuak MPs. No such advocacy came from Nuer representatives.
Calling for peace without justice only obstructs accountability. Peace must be reciprocal. Symbolic gestures—peace banners and marches—mean nothing when Nuer cannot cross bridges or travel without fear of being shot. The goal of violent actors is not coexistence but the removal of Nuer from Ethiopia altogether.
This is no longer a policing issue. It is an armed insurgency marked by attacks on civilians, including babies, patients in ambulances, and people in public spaces. The Nuer should never have been left to defend themselves. This is a responsibility the federal government should have assumed long ago.
The release of killers, the refusal to arrest those responsible for murders—including police officers and medical personnel—and the silence of officials like Alemitu have ensured that violence continues unchecked. Justice delayed has become justice denied.
As long as Nuer MPs remain silent or call for hollow peace while standing in the way of justice, the killings will not stop. The people of Gambella deserve leaders who condemn violence honestly, act constitutionally, and defend the lives and rights of all Ethiopians.
