Pagan Amum
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Pa'gan Amum Okiech (born 3 January 1959) is a
South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...
ese politician. He is the co-founder of South Sudan Reborn, a political organisation that attempts to bring peace to South Sudan and is the primary spokesperson. He is also the head of the SPLM-Former Detainees (SPLM-FD).


Early life

Pa'gan Amum Okiech was born in a small post known as Wat in the Lou Nuer area. His father was a non-commissioned police officer responsible for the Wat post. His family moved to
Malakal Malakal is a city in South Sudan, serving as the capital of Upper Nile (state), Upper Nile State in the Greater Upper Nile region of South Sudan, along the White Nile, White Nile River. It also serves as the headquarter of Malakal County and it us ...
after his grandfather, Okiech, chief of the Ubuar people, died and Pa'gan Amum's father was asked to take over the role. His father went from being a clan chief to later being paramount chief and president of the court. His mother named him Pagan, which means 'incredible' in the Shilluk language. Both his parents were educated and his family had considerable wealth. His father acquired substantial tracts of land, farmed various crops and operated a series of shops in Malakal. He left home to study at the University of Khartoum in the late 1970s, where Southern Sudanese students were a minority.


Sudanese civil wars

In 1982, Pa'gan Amum left law 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 ...
to organize and command a group of young revolutionaries committed to the establishment of a new country in southern Sudan. This group joined with other insurgent groups to form the
Sudan People's Liberation Movement The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM; , ''Al-Ḥarakat ash-Shaʿbiyyat liTaḥrīr as-Sūdān'') is a political party in South Sudan. It was initially founded as the political wing of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA; a key belli ...
(SPLM) under the leadership of Pa'gan Amum's mentor Dr John Garang de Maboir. In 2005, Pa'gan Amum was part of Dr. Garang's team that negotiated the comprehensive peace agreement (CPA), which brought to an end the Sudanese Civil War and led to a historic, internationally supervised referendum in 2011.


South Sudanese politics

After the referendum, Pa'gan Amum continued his service as Secretary General of the SPLM. He was elected by the National Liberation Council. He was also South Sudan's Chief Negotiator with
Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
on post independence issues. He served as the Minister for Peace and Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) Implementation in the Government of Southern Sudan, prior to independence in 2011, and as the caretaker Minister of Peace in the first government post-independence, taking office on 23 July, 2011. In 2011, he was the chief negotiator, negotiating on behalf of the South Sudanese government with the Sudanese government over splitting oil revenues after South Sudanese independence. In January 2012, Sudan confiscated the South's oil shipments at Port Sudan, effectively holding hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue hostage in order to secure a stronger bargaining position during revenue negotiations. In retaliation, the South Sudanese government threatened to shut down all oil production. A few days later, the South Sudanese council of ministers chose to completely shut down all oil production. President
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 ...
(of South Sudan) and President
Omar al-Bashir Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir (born 1 January 1944) is a Sudanese former military officer and politician who served as Head of state of Sudan, Sudan's head of state under various titles from 1989 until 2019, when he was deposed in 2019 Sudanese c ...
(of Sudan) negotiated an agreement to the stand-off during an emergency heads of state summit at Addis Abba, however Pa'gan Amum rejected the agreement and refused to sign it. President Kiir was then forced to renege on the agreement, infuriating the Sudanese. In 2013, the
South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...
descended into civil war and on 23 July that year, Pa'gan Amum was put under house arrest by SPLM and suspended from all official duties. A trial against Pa'gan Amum and three other SPLM leaders (the 'detainees') accused of treason began the following year in March, 2014 but was overturned in April. During this period, Pa'gan Amum claims he avoided several assassination attempts. In June 2015, the detainees were returned to Juba from exile in
Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
and were reintegrated into the ruling party. Pa'gan Amum was re-instated as secretary general. Pa'gan Amum signed the 2015 peace agreement in
Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...
between the current government and the opposition. Claiming continuous threats to his security, Pa'gan Amum is currently in exile in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. He is currently living in
Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
,
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
. In 2017, he received a restraining order against Amira Ali and then sued her for slander after she posted videos on Facebook accusing him of murder and rape.


References


See also

* Ministry of Peace (South Sudan) {{DEFAULTSORT:Amum, Pagan Living people 1959 births Government ministers of South Sudan Sudan People's Liberation Movement politicians People from Upper Nile (state)