President Salva Kiir led a team of senior government officials in receiving the body of the late senior military official and former governor of Jonglei State, Gen John Kong Nyuon, who died late last year in Nairobi, Kenya.
Nyuon passed away on December 25, 2022, after succumbing to a long, undisclosed illness
President Kiir described the late government official as a “dedicated liberator’ who contributed immensely to the country’s independence.
Speaker of Revitalised Transitional National Legislative Assembly, Jemma Nunu Kumba, said Nyuon was “brave fighter, a loyal, and a brilliant commander of the SPLM/A,” in a statement she shared on her official Facebook page in late December. A number of other top officials have also praised the departed leader for his strong statesmanship.
Who is Nyuon?
According to official sources, Nyuon was born in Fangak County, Jonglei State.
His long military and political career began in 1964 when he joined the Anyanya I rebellion against the Sudanese government, according to the statement from the Office of the President
A southern separatist movement, the Anyanya, fought the government during the first Sudanese civil war between 1955 and 1972.
Here he served in different garrisons and soon became a captain.
Led by its leaders, including Gen. Joseph Lagu, the late Gordon Mourtat, and the late Aggrey Jaden, among others, the movement later reached an understanding with the Sudanese government and signed the Addis Ababa Agreement in Ethiopia in 1972.
The peace agreement later collapsed, leading to the formation of Anyanya II, a continuation of the movement, in 1978.
Co-founded SPLM/A in 1983
Five years after the formation of Anyanya II in 1983, he became one of the founding members of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) which became the main southern opposition armed group fighting the Sudanese government dominated by Islamic fundamentalists.
Dr. John Garang de Mabior, a late revolution leader and hero, led the SPLM until his death in a helicopter crash in 2005.
General Nyuon was assigned as Commander of the 105th and 104th Battalion under the overall command of late Lt. Col. William Nyuon Bany, who was also a founding member of the SPLM.
In 1987, he was promoted to alternate commander.
After serving as commander of the 105th and 104th battalions, he was elevated to the rank of Alternate Commander (A/CDR), which had just been created in 1987.
In the same year, he was also appointed the Deputy Commander of the Shakush Battalion, which was led by former commander and current Vice President Dr James Wani Igga.
Finally became overall commander in 1992
The statement by the Office of the President published yesterday also indicated that General Nyuon was finally made an overall commander of the SPLM operation around Juba, code-named “Operation Jungle Storm” (OJS) in 1992.
The following year, he was appointed a member of the SPLM Leadership Council and commander of Independent Area Command of Yei and Kajokeji.
Presidential Security Advisor in 2007
After more than 20 years of fighting, the Sudanese government and the SPLM finally signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, bringing the war to an end.
The peace accord also provided for the conduct of a referendum for southerners to choose whether to remain within the united Sudan or become an independent state after six years of transitional government.
After Dr Garang died in 2005, President Salva Kiir took over as leader of the SPLM and first vice president of Sudan’s transitional government.
General Nyuon became a security advisor for President Salva Kiir who also headed the regional Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS), established as part of implementation of the CPA.
Minister of defense and veteran affairs in 2011
After a landslide referendum that resulted in the creation of South Sudan in 2011, General John Kong Nyuon was appointed first minister ofdefense and veteran affairs until 2013.
Governor of Jonglei State in 2013
In 2013, he became the third governor of Jonglei State replacing General Kuol Manyang Juuk who also became the defense minister the same year. He was also the governor of the now-defunct state of Fangak.
At the time of his death, media sources indicate that the veteran politician was a member of the SPLM political bureau, high decision-making body of the party
