Family of late John Garang condemn conduct of “demonic” rituals on grave March 8, 2014 (JUBA) – Various rituals, including slaughtering of bulls, placement of bull horns and other animal remains have allegedly been conducted on the grave yard of the late South Sudan’s leader, John Garang de Mabior, to prevent his ghost from haunting his successor Salva Kiir; a practice condemned by family members of the late leader. JPEG - 6.7 kb Mabior John Garang de Mabior (File photo MC Clatchy Newspapers) Garang’s memorial site in the capital, Juba has reportedly seen a significant rise in recent days of various groups believed to be close to president Kiir attempt to tell the ghost of South Sudan’s fallen hero to leave the former alone. President Kiir was reportedly having recurring dreams in which his predecessor, who died in a mysterious helicopter crash in 2005, allegedly strangles life out of him. Such conduct of rituals on the grave has been the topic for discussions in various blogs as family members of the late criticised the practice. Garang’s eldest son, Mabior Garang de Mabior, who recently took part in the peace talks in Addis Ababa on the side of the SPLM-In-Opposition condemned the rituals, describing them as “demonic and primitive.” “…These demonic primitive rulers have gone as far as placing cow horns on the grave of the late Dr. John because they believe it will stop Salva from having bad dreams…he was suffering from a recurring dream in which John Garang strangles him…,” wrote the son of the late leader on his Facebook page. It is not clear how long the president has had this problem, or whether members of his cabinet are also being haunted by Garang’s ghost, but this growing group of dedicated supporters and well-wishers have taken it upon themselves to do what it takes to ensure that nothing comes in the president’s way. “I have been seeing people dressed in a style of sorcerers conducting rituals at the grave, but I couldn’t understand what it means. I thought they were honouring the late,” a Juba resident eyewitness told Sudan Tribune on Friday. Many South Sudanese communities have the tradition of scaring off ghosts through rituals in order to prevent them from haunting the living, particularly when it is perceived that the dead may have certain blames on those still alive. (ST)
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 20:14:33 +0000
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