General Mulatu’s strategy and the federal government’s current peace plan in Gambella may not be as

General Mulat Not Doing what he supposed to be doing

effective as non-Anyuak communities hope. For more than a decade, the Anyuak have engaged in repeated violent campaigns against the Nuer and people from highland Ethiopia—Oromo, Amhara, Tigrayans, or light-skinned people in general—aimed at dislodging them from their homes.

Successive federal governments have attempted to quell the violence. However, these efforts have failed to address the problem in a meaningful and lasting way, partly because perpetrators of mass murder have been released back into the community, where they continue to take innocent lives.

As a result, Gambella has experienced only brief and fragile periods of calm over the past decade.

Tranquillity tends to appear only when killers are temporarily disrupted through law enforcement pressure, displacement, or flight from justice.

A clear example is the late GPLM commander Okello Okidi. He left Ethiopia and later returned following a change in the federal government. Reports suggest that Okello sought refuge in Eritrea, where he received advanced weapons training.

He returned to Ethiopia after the federal government signed agreements with various armed groups, allowing them to come home and pursue political grievances through peaceful means and the ballot box.

Yet the Nuer received no reprieve following Okello’s return. Within less than a year, he resumed his violent campaign. His ideology, shared by many Anyuak extremists, envisions a Gambella without Nuer. This group is responsible for the current killings of the Nuer and highlanders, and it is this group that continues to destabilize the region.

The approach undertaken by the federal government does not appear to confront this reality with the seriousness required. Gambella Vision believes that the Anyuak extremists perceive the Prosperity Government as too lenient to challenge their ideological campaign of terror.

Peace cannot be achieved through appeasement. Begging those who kill innocent people does not bring reconciliation, whether with the Anyuak extremists or, with any group that targets others without cause.

Historically, the Nuer and Anyuak lived together for centuries from the time of Emperor Haile Selassie through the Derg era—in Itang and other villages along the Openo River. There was never a state-backed attempt to expel the Nuer from their homes during those periods.

What we see today is unprecedented. The Anyuak extremists appear to exploit perceived weaknesses within the Prosperity Government, which they interpret as permission to commit mass murder with impunity.

1. Peace Should Not Come at the Cost of Dignity

Large areas once inhabited by the Nuer—particularly Itang town and surrounding kebeles such as Ngote, Tielul, and Thow Koat—have been abandoned. Any “peace” that requires the permanent loss of these homes is not peace at all.

From a law enforcement perspective, Itang has witnessed some of the worst violence in recent years. In the last quarter of 2025 alone, more than 100 Nuer were killed in Tharpaam in a single day. Many survivors have yet to return home, despite Itang being a special woreda encompassing more than 20 Nuer kebeles, including Puldeng, Baziel, Watch Gach, and Makot.

The federal government has failed to adequately address violent criminals in Itang, even though some high-profile militants such as Okello Okidi have been neutralized. Too often, the Nuer have been the primary victims: harmed, exploited, and oppressed.

Simply pleading with aggressors to “be nice” does nothing to guarantee the safe return of displaced Nuer. It leaves survivors at the mercy of those who have already shown a willingness to kill. In any developed or rule-based system, this cannot be called peace. It is silence enforced through fear.

2. Appeasing Wrongdoers Encourages More Violence

History repeatedly shows that appeasement emboldens harmful actors. When perpetrators face no consequences, they learn that violence works.

This pattern was evident in Abol, where passenger buses were attacked and passengers killed. When the first attackers escaped accountability, attacks on public transportation became routine. Ambulances transporting patients from the Nuer Zone to Gambella town were also targeted and sprayed with bullets, resulting in civilian deaths.

Government vehicles carrying zonal and woreda officials were similarly attacked. Disturbingly, some of these crimes were committed by serving police officers of Anyuak ethnicity. Constable Azach Bare Agua of Abol woreda, for example, was involved in the killing of four people in two separate vehicle attacks.

Azach Bare Agua and the Abol woreda administrator were reportedly protected by then-regional president Alemitu. This protection pushed the region further into chaos, as the Nuer—having lost faith in state institutions began taking matters into their own hands when the government failed to act.

3. Real Peace Requires Accountability

True peace exists only when:

• violence stops,

• justice is upheld, and

• all sides are treated equally under the law.

This often requires firmness, clear boundaries, and lawful enforcement—not begging.

Since Alemitu came to power, there has not been a single month without recorded Nuer deaths. Violence never truly stopped. Gambella only appeared peaceful because the Nuer restrained themselves and avoided retaliation even as their loved ones were murdered.

No meaningful justice has been delivered. In cases where perpetrators were apprehended, they were often released on Alemitu’s orders. One example is the killer of Duoth Choat, who was freed after serving only a few months in prison.

This contrasts sharply with how Nuer suspects are treated. Nuer accused of involvement in Anyuak deaths are frequently held indefinitely, regardless of evidence. The system is not operating under fair or equal rules.

4. This Position Is Pro-Responsibility, Not Anti-Peace

When people say, “We want peace, but not peace built on begging criminals,” they are drawing a necessary distinction between peace rooted in justice and peace rooted in submission.

Gambella Vision believes the correct approach should have been firm enforcement of the rule of law—arresting perpetrators and keeping them behind bars. Empty peace conferences and symbolic placards in the Nuer Zone, where the population is not responsible for the violence, are ineffective and wasteful.

Efforts should instead be directed toward educating extremist Anyuak elements on peaceful coexistence and building functioning correctional institutions for those who refuse to stop killing innocent people. Appeasing criminals only reinforces their power, and the current federal approach risks doing exactly that.

Conclusion

The people of Gambella long for stability, dignity, and the ability to live without fear. But peace built on surrender is not peace at all. Peace that requires victims to beg their attackers is nothing more than enforced silence.

Real peace demands justice. It demands accountability. It demands that those who commit crimes face consequences—not rewards.

Appeasement does not stop aggression; it fuels it. When leaders kneel before those who abuse power, they do not end conflict—they invite more of it.

We want peace, but a peace rooted in fairness, strength, and principle. True peace is not granted by criminals; it is secured by people and institutions that refuse to bow to them.

Peace is a universal priority for any responsible government, but it cannot be achieved by yielding to those who undermine the rule of law. Appeasement erodes institutional authority and emboldens further misconduct. Lasting peace requires strong governance, equal enforcement of the law, and unwavering commitment to justice.

We seek peace—but not at the expense of dignity, state authority, or the safety of innocent citizens. Peace must be built on justice, not on pleading with those who reject it.

This article was written by Pel Kun Chol, a native of Gambella from Lare Woreda.