Former wrestler Ajak Kongor-awer passes on in an accident along Nimule-Juba Highway.
The wrestling community is mourning the shocking demise of a former wrestler, Ajak Kongor-awer, who perished in a car accident on Monday.
Kongor, the head coach of the Jonglei Wrestling Association, died on the spot in a fatal accident while traveling from Juba to Nimule at the Aru-junction.
Gabriel Garang Atem, the youth leader for the Twic East community in Jonglei State, described Kongor as a calm, wise man who is solution-oriented and a very good mobilizer.
“We really lost the organiser, mobiliser, and leader who took responsibility and championed culture,” Atem said.
He said the late Kongor was one of those trying to promote and establish the South Sudan Wrestling Federation.
Atem said Kongor began his career in the early 1990s, retired in the early 2000s, and after South Sudan gained independence, he became one of the people in charge of organizing the wrestler’s events.
“This is a big loss to pan-Kongor-awer, including Roordior, the Adhiok Community, the Twic East Community, Jonglei State, and South Sudan at large,” Kongor’s another fan, Joma Mayen, said.
He said that Kongor’s news of his premature death is truly heartbreaking.
“We lost a fantastic man, a leader, who was really a multi-tasker, someone who always appeared and touched things.”
Until recently, according to Mayen, the late Kongor-awer was the lead wrestler for Adhiok.
Meanwhile, one of the community leaders, Yom Deng Bul, described the late Kongor as a cultural hero who devoted much of his time to promoting culture.
“He was a cultural hero and cultural mentor to our generations.”He is South Sudan’s legendary former wrestler, and he will be remembered forever,” he said.
He added, “Ajak Kongor-awer’s demise is very painful to all of us, and he will be missed in all activities in our societies.”
Kongor was given names like Mamerdid, Anyar-nyin, Arek-kueeth, and Majok Taban as a result of his cultural support.
He was one of the undefeated South Sudanese wrestlers and was well-liked in the wrestling community.
Ajak Kongor-awer held numerous positions in the Adhiok community, including Twic East.
He served as supreme chairman of the Twic East Wrestling Association and as deputy chairperson to Beny Chol Jok-ror of the Jonglei State Wrestling Association.
In the South Sudan Wrestling Federation, Kongor also served as deputy chairperson to Ajak-Taban Ngong. He was a former national referee for South Sudan’s wrestling communities.
Kongor hails from the Adhiok Community, the Twi Dinka, Jonglei State, and South Sudan. Ajak is a cultural activist and a sports and games
champion.
