South Sudan Lost Another Liberation Hero

South Sudan Lost Another Liberation Hero

For Immediate Release

April 11, 2022

It’s with heavy heart and mental pain to inform the people of South Sudan that my dearest uncle, friend, mentor and role model, uncle David Koak Guok Buop, passed on in Nairobi on Sunday. We delayed announcing his untimely demise until all family members were informed first instead of hearing the news in the social media.

My uncle David Koak Guok is not only Anya-Nya I veteran but also a freedom fighter who joined the liberation struggle in 1997 to save South Sudan after the split of the Movement in 1991.

The autobiography of uncle David Koak will be written for South Sudanese to know his contribution to the independence of South Sudan. When he joined Anya- Nya I in 1960s, he served as the representative of the Movement in Congo and Ethiopia.

When the Addis Ababa Agreement was concluded in 1972, he rejected the Agreement because it didn’t guarantee the right to self-determination of the people of South Sudan including the right to secession. As a result, Emperor Haile Sellasie ordered for his arrest. He was imprisoned for a year and was later deported to Sudan against his will.

The contribution of uncle David Koak to South Sudan liberation struggle can only be narrated in a book. He is one of South Sudan heroes and heroines who spent their youth fighting for what culminated into independence in July 2011.

Uncle David,

Rest In Peace but the people of South Sudan will not forget your contribution to their liberation. As I promised you two years ago, I will author your Biography for the next generations of South Sudan to remember your contribution.

Rest in Power,

Amb. Gordon Buay