4 years ago today Part 1

We were two weeks into the Bible School which was going really good. Our big banner inviting interested students still hung outside by the main gate. It spoke of serious business and we really prepared for it. But no one could have ever imagined the event of 31^st July 2005 and what was to follow.

It was the worst non combat event in the nation of Sudan in recent memory, especially for Southerners. We woke on Monday morning August 1, 2005, to the news that the presidential chopper boarded by Dr. John Garang De Mabior from Entebbe, Uganda to Juba, the captial of South Sudan was missing. The aircraft belonged to President Musevni of Uganda.

Dr. John Garang was the visionary leader of South Sudan. He had successfully led his people in the south through a most gruesome civil war against the northern government. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was secured and signed on 9^th January 2005, marking the end of the war.

The radios from everywhere were loud; every listener was engaged, waiting for their fears to be allayed. Pastor Stanley walked into my room and sat down. We exchanged morning greetings and nothing more. No one was talking much. Everybody was listening and pondering. Can it be true?

By 10am, it was official. Dr. John Garang is dead. The SPLA soldiers had found the crash site in a mountainous range in Sudan and recovered his body with that of his 8 aides and the 7 crew members. He was sworn in as the country’s first Vice President and the President of South Sudan; just three weeks before his death.

Sadness engulfed us. Sporadic gun shots rang out from several quarters. The anger in the air was thick but more than that was the fear. Many foreigners ran for cover to the UN compound. Others gathered in groups to pray and plan.

I needed to contact my family and mobilize prayers immediately. Yei had a cell phone company that operated an analog system that allowed users to call out but not receive from other networks but its own. I folded my flight ticket into my international passport, pocketed it and made my way to the telecom company. It ran an internet café and the Manager was my friend. But that day, nobody was anybody’s friend. I managed to sneak into the café and send a quick email to my dear wife.

But the telecommunication equipment was faulty so people could not make calls. This further worsened the madness brewing in the heads of some soldiers that needed to communicate with their commanders. Some threatened to burn down the telecom office if they returned and their “one-way” cell phones were still not working. I knew it was time to return to our base.

I arrived the base to notice an AK-47 in my room. “Who owns this?” I inquired.

“It’s ours,” said the security guard, a beloved disciple.

“Ours?” “Who is ours… you mean we have a gun here?”

“Yes, every home has at least one. Some have many.”

It was my first time to handle an AK-47 rifle and even have the opportunity of firing it, though I didn’t. I admired it and it felt really good. For a brief second I felt different holding it. Believe me there’s something about that deadly weapon the oozes confidence.

Then, I asked the young man, “Can you imagine how many people this thing has killed?” Without attempting to answer, he took the gun from me, walked outside and let off a few rounds.

“I thought we had discussed spending some time to pray about this situation?” I was trying to recover from the shock the bangs of the shots had sent through my being. “We should show good example to our neighbors…”

He cuts in, “Uche, you pray and we watch. That is how, we’ll survive.”

I didn’t see the need to argue with him.

But should a Christian use a gun for self defense?  Or simply trust the Lord and the words of the Bible?

[Defining moments of that week in Part 2]