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A CALL TO RESIST RECRUITMENT AND ENGAGEMENT IN THE INVOLUNTARY CONFLICTS

Resist Lobong's recruitments.

Torit, 20-1-2026

South Sudan has finally reached a point of no return after the government fundamentally misinterpreted the meaning of peaceful dialogue. It dismissed the Tumaini Initiative and openly abrogated the R-ARCSS. These actions reveal a clear lack of will and commitment to saving the country from collapse. Worse still, the government continues to undemocratise state institutions, filling them despotically and nepotistically. Such a system does not conform to international standards or modern principles of governance. The persistent and inconsistent display of evil cannot go unchallenged; hence, the need to resist.

While President Salva Kiir’s government clings to power, it continues to mobilise and recruit teenagers and youth, claiming they are fighting defensively to protect the state from collapse. The painful reality is that many of his unpaid loyalists can no longer withstand the growing strength of opposing forces. The recruitment of teenagers and civilian youth by President Kiir and his loyal governors to fight on their behalf is a grave crime against the lives and futures of these very young people.

As a concerned citizen and activist, I write to condemn the actions of the government, particularly those of Governor Lobong, who, on numerous occasions, has encouraged youth to fight causes they do not understand. During the conflict in Torit West, Governor Lobong mobilised and armed local youth to pursue well-armed and seemingly invincible opposition forces. More recently, he facilitated the arming of youth in Narus to fight alongside incapacitated and malnourished government forces.

Furthermore, wherever the governor goes, he calls upon the youth to support his failed system. Arming young people in defence of such a system is equivalent to urging them to bury themselves alive. These youth can do far better if given the chance to live, learn, and build their future. The mobilisation, recruitment, and militarisation of civilian youth carry consequences far beyond the immediate outcomes the governments of President Kiir and Governor Lobong seek.

In light of this, I call upon the youth of the Equatoria region, particularly Eastern Equatoria State, to reject Governor Lobong’s blind calls for support. I do not encourage joining opposition forces either. Rather, my appeal is for you to remain civilians or to consciously and voluntarily pursue liberation from a failed system that neither values your lives nor protects your resources nor secures your future.

Let it be noted that reclaiming freedom from a dictatorial system requires no false neutrality, nor does it demand allegiance to deadly politics. If you blindly join a force that works against your freedom, you will inevitably reap what you sow. We must resist the politics of division, family-ness, and systemic impoverishment.

RESIST THE RECRUITMENT.

RESIST ARMAMENT.

AND FIGHT YOUR OWN FREEDOM BATTLE.


Abunerry, Ayella

Mavker, Kotev, and Rabii

 

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