Following allegations of retaliation by Gaat DENG against Anyuak individuals, amid longstanding allegations of killings of Nuer people over the past eight

Senay Okwor, biggest Peace Pretender of Gambella

years and repeated incidents of what many Nuer describe as a political chokehold on the Nuer Zone, Senay Okwor, an Anyuak MP came out in defence of his people.

Senay was once a Vice President of Gambella and a Police Commissioner. In a statement posted on his Facebook account, he publicly called for Gaat DENG to be dealt with.

Senay may be viewed by many Nuer as one of Gambella’s biggest hypocrites and a symbol of double standards. This is because there has hardly been a meeting involving the arming of Anyuak groups against the Nuer that Senay did not attend.

During the reign of Omot Ojulu, Senay was accused of releasing convicted police officers of Anyuak descent and sent them to Puldeng, where they involved in attacks against Nuer communities.

These actions raise serious questions about his consistency, motives, and commitment to fairness and peace in Gambella. If Senay claims to stand for peace and justice, then his past conduct and involvement in these events must be viewed with a grain of salt.

Puting the hypocrisy aside, Senay was doing what is best for the Anyuak as he represents them in Gambella Parliament. That is a task the Nuer Members of Parliament failed to identify.

Being a Member of Parliament does not mean surrendering your dignity, your principles, or the interests of the people you were elected to represent. Yet, this is precisely what remains to be demonstrated by many Nuer politicians representing their community, whether at the regional level in Gambella or in the Federal Government in Addis Ababa.

For years, the Nuer community has endured violence, killings, political marginalisation and repeated restrictions in the Nuer Zone which is now in chokehold due to presence of armed terrorists between Tharpaam and Gambella.

Yet, there has never been a single Nuer Member of Parliament either in the regional state government or federal government who condemned what the Anyuak politicians and the armed groups are doing against the Nuer.

When members of the Nuer community are threatened or attacked the Nuer MPs entrusted with political representation have remained remarkably silent. Representation has mean nothing among the Nuer Society in Ethiopia. It disappeared long ago when the community needed its leaders most.

Gambella Vision do hope that the Nuer MPs take notice on Senay’s post defending the indefensible. Imagine if all Nuer MPs screamed in the Parliament and on their social media like the way Senay did, these killings on Nuer would have stopped long time ago.

The fact that it is still going makes the terrorist to believe that Nuer Death in Gambella is somewhat normalise. Many Nuer MPs scare to even type Rest In Peace on profiles or posts of slain Nuer by Anyuak. It does not have to be that way.

This article was written by Pam Chuol Joack, a contributor of Gambella Vision and analyst on Gambella Affair.