Arok Thon Arok (died 12 February 1998) was a politician from

Southern Sudan Southern Sudan may refer to: * the southern regions of the present-day Republic of Sudan in North Africa * South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the nor ...

. He was one of five senior commanders of the

Sudan People's Liberation Army The South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), formerly the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), is the military force of South Sudan. The SPLA was founded as a guerrilla movement against the government of Sudan in 1983 and was a key parti ...

(SPLA), before defecting.

Early life

Arok was a Twic Dinka from the community of

Kongor Kongor is a community in the Kongor Payam of the Twic East County of Jonglei State, in the Greater Upper Nile region of South Sudan. Twic east is in Dinka territory. The village is to the east of the White Nile and about north of Bor. The area ...

in Twic East County, Jonglei State. He was said to be related to

John Garang John Garang De Mabior (June 23, 1945 – July 30, 2005) was a Sudanese politician and revolutionary leader. From 1983 to 2005, he led the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M, Now known as South Sudan People's Defense Forces) as a co ...

. (reliability unknown)

Career

Arok attended military school in

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

. He was a major in the SPAF, working as an intelligence officer in the 13th Brigade in Upper Nile. He and others founded

(SPLA) in 1983. He was one of five senior commanders on the Permanent Political Military Office of the SPLA: John Garang,

Kerubino Kuanyin Bol Kerubino Kuanyin Bol (1948 – 9 September 1999) was a Sudanese rebel leader who was one of the founders of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and one of the leaders of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) during the Second Sudane ...

William Nyuon Bany William Nyuon Bany Machar (1930 – 13 January 1996) was a South Sudan, Southern Sudanese politician who was also one of the founders of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). He was appointed third in command after John Garang and Kerubino Ku ...

, and

Salva Kiir Salva Kiir Mayardit (born 13 September 1951), commonly known as Salva Kiir, is a South Sudanese politician who is the President of South Sudan since its independence on 9 July 2011. Prior to independence, he was the President of the Government ...

being the others. He was senior in rank to all of the others apart from Garang, and served for four years as a member of the Political-Military High Command and as Deputy Chief of Staff for Administration and Logistics. In 1984, he was part of a delegation visiting Libya to buy arms. He was in Kongor in 1984 to 1985 as the regional commander for Mading Bor. He almost died of thirst between

Juba Juba is the capital and largest city of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and also serves as the capital of the Central Equatoria, Central Equatoria State. It is the most recently declared national capital and had a populatio ...

and Mading Bor when he and his troops travelled in an area where there was no water. He was succeeded by Commander

Kuol Manyang Juuk Kuol Manyang is a South Sudanese politician. He is a member of the Sudan People's Liberation Army, SPLM. He became governor of Jonglei state on 15 December 2007, following the first former governor, Philip Thon Leek from Dinka Bor, to curb cattle r ...

as the leader in Mading Bor. Arok's wife died in 1987, and, in 1988, he visited England to place his children in school there, where it was reported that he undertook secret negotiations with SPAF General Burma Nasir. When word got back to Garang, he expelled Arok from the SPLA and briefly imprisoned, along with Kerubino. Arok went to Uganda, where he was placed under house arrest by

Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and Officer (armed forces), military officer who is the ninth and current president of Uganda since 1986. As of 2025, he is the third-List of current state lead ...

before being released in February 1993. They were eventually given status as refugees, and went to Kenya, where they joined an SPLA breakaway faction formed in 1991 headed by former SPLA Commander

Riek Machar Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon (born 26 November 1952) is a South Sudanese politician who has served as the vice president of South Sudan on several occasions, most recently as the first vice president, since 2020. A member of the Nuer ethnic group ...

, a movement later called the

South Sudan Independence Movement The SPLA-Nasir was a splinter faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), a rebel group that fought in the Second Sudanese Civil War. Originally created as an attempt by the Nuer tribe to replace SPLA leader John Garang in August 1991, ...

/Army. By March 1993, there were four factions opposing Garang. Initially, they comprised a "Unity" group, but this fell apart. The factions were led by the following men: # Bany and Joseph Oduhu #

and

Lam Akol Lam Akol Ajawin, is a South Sudanese politician of Shilluk people, Shilluk descent. He is the current leader of National Democratic Movement (NDM) party. He is a former high-ranking official in the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), and subse ...

(Nasir Group) # Kerubino and others (Bahr el-Ghazal Group) # Arok (Bor Citizens Group) In the 1990s, Arok returned to Khartoum, and, in April 1996, Machar, Kerubino and Arok signed a "Political Charter" with the

Sudanese Government The Government of Sudan is the federal provisional government created by the Constitution of Sudan having executive, parliamentary, and the judicial branches. Previously, a ''president'' was head of state, head of government, and commander-in ...

Death

Arok died in the 1998 Sudan Air Force crash at

Nasir Nasir () is a masculine given name, commonly found in Arabic which can mean "helper" or "one who gives victory" (grammatically the Stem I masculine singular active participle of consonantal verb root ''n-ṣ-r''). The female form of the name is ...

. Others killed included the vice-president of Sudan, Major General Zubair Mohamed Salih, and several other political and military leaders.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arok, Arok Thon Sudan People's Liberation Movement politicians 1998 deaths Year of birth missing SPLM/SPLA Political-Military High Command Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Sudan Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1998