57 Ugandans bury Garang

Aug 07, 2005

FIFTY-SIX Ugandan officials, nine of them ministers, eight MPs and the army commander, joined thousands at the burial of John Garang in Juba on Saturday.

By Charles Opolot
in Juba


FIFTY-SIX Ugandan officials, nine of them ministers, eight MPs and the army commander, joined thousands at the burial of John Garang in Juba on Saturday.

President Yoweri Museveni, who on Friday expressed uncertainty about the cause of the crash, did not attend the burial. It was the Second Deputy Prime Minister, Henry Kajura, who led the Ugandan delegation that handed over the Ugandan condolence message to the Sudanese leader, Omar el-Bashir. The delegation flew to Juba in three chartered planes.

A message from deputy Parliament Speaker Rebecca Kadaga was delivered to the widow, Rebecca Garang.

Garang was laid to rest at the proposed parliamentary site for New Sudan near Kujur hill, 3km east of Juba town.

Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) stalwart Dr. James Rwanyarare turned up for the funeral with the SPLA delegation from Nairobi. He said he was representing his party. Rwanyarare does not hold any post in UPC.

The Ugandan delegation included Amama Mbabazi, Kahinda Otafiire, Ruhakana Rugunda, Augustine Nshimye, Betty Aketch, Mike Mukula, Okot Ogong and Agard Didi. Others were Lt. Gen. Aronda Nyakairima, Maj. Gen. James Kazini and Brig. Kale Kaihura.

MPs Ken Lukyamizi (Lubaga South) and Mike Sebalu (Busiro East) did not turn up although they were on the list of those expected.

Bashir flew to Juba with two presidential jets and a Sudanese State aviation airbus. The second jet landed 30 minutes later and his elite guard surged forward to protect him, only to find he was not in.

The aviation airbus landed after the first presidential jet and was minutes later followed by a second sleek presidential jet with Bashir aboard.

Thousands of Sudanese, some visiting their town for the first time in 21 years, thronged the dusty streets of
the rocky Juba town, singing and chanting slogans, during a motorcade procession from the airport to All Saints Anglican cathedral, singing, “We shall never give up.”

Presidents Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and Mwai Kibaki of Kenya were present as was Daniel arap Moi, Kibaki’s predecessor, who stood next to Lucy Kibaki.

Juba air controllers were overwhelmed by the air traffic that kept them busy all day long with the 56 planes failing to get adequate parking in the airport.

There was a massive diplomatic hitch later during departure, when part of the Ugandan delegation led by Otafiire got stranded at the runway. Their plane had been taken over by an SPLA delegation heading for Nairobi.

An exchange erupted between the Libyan ambassador, Mouhamoud Boujeldian, Otafiire, Elly Karuhanga and Aggrey Awori and the East African airline’s crew for one hour.

SPLA leaders ordered 15 SPLA officers destined for Nairobi off the plane to enable the Ugandans fly to Entebbe. The plane flew out of Juba at 7:30pm amid fears from the pilots that Juba airport had poor runway lighting and the surface was slippery.

A 60,000 strong military force composed of the presidential guard for president Bashir, SPLA and regular Sudan army maintained tight security during the burial in Juba.

Mrs. Rebecca Garang, who introduced her six children, two of them boys, praised her husband as a hero of peace who had left a legacy of unity for Sudan and fought a just war for equality and prosperity for all Sudanese. “Garang is gone but his vision lives on, we should never give up, Aluta continua,” shouted Rebecca Garang, as the mourners chanted back.

Salva Kiir, the new SPLA leader and the vice-president elect, urged the Sudanese to unite and follow Garang’s vision. He warned that SPLA leadership would not tolerate the presence of LRA of Joseph Kony in southern Sudan.

Bashir, who addressed mourners in Arabic, praised Garang as a man of vision who died at the critical time when Sudan needed him.

Museveni, Bashir to publish probe

President Museveni and his Sudanese counterpart, Bashir, have vowed to publish the findings of the probe into the crash.

A statement from State House said the inquiry had been set up to investigate the accident. Speaking at Garang’s burial on Saturday in Juba, Bashir vowed to publish “in all transparency” the results of the probe.

Museveni told mourners in Yei on Friday the helicopter crash may not have been an accident.

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