Liberation Veteran and Bilpam founder Gen John Duit Yiech dies in Ethiopia
General John Duit Yiech Tuach, a veteran liberation figure and one of the founders of Bilpam in Gambella, Ethiopia—the historic military training base of the Anya-Nya II and later the SPLA—died in Ethiopia on Tuesday, his family has announced.
The late General Duit hailed from Maiwut County in Upper Nile State.
The statement described General Duit as more than a military leader, calling him “a strategic architect of our freedom and a living custodian of South Sudan’s liberation history.”
“It is with profound sadness that we acknowledge the passing of General John Duit Yiech Tuach in Gambella, Ethiopia,” the family said in a statement.
“His decades of service and unwavering commitment to the people will forever be etched in the foundations of our nation,” the statement added.
His role in the establishment of Bilpam
During a reception organised in his honour after he joined the Transitional Government of South Sudan in 2012, General Duit recounted his role in the early establishment of Bilpam, the Anya-Nya II military base in Ethiopia.
He told the gathering in Juba that he was the first Anya-Nya II officer assigned to assess the proposed site for the base in 1975.
According to his account, upon arriving in the area, he performed a traditional ritual and sacrificed a sheep, believing that its blood would protect the fighters from diseases or poisoning. He said the area was suspected to contain toxic substances underground.
General Duit linked the establishment of the base to the abrogation of the 1972 Addis Ababa Agreement by Khartoum, which prompted a group of Southern Sudanese officers stationed in Akobo, in present-day Jonglei State, to mutiny in 1975.
The officers, led by the late Benson Kuany Latjor, marched towards Ethiopia in protest against the government’s actions.
After reaching Itang town in Ethiopia, the group met Ethiopian authorities from the Gambella region. They were later welcomed and directed to identify a suitable location for their military base around Nyigol and Puldeng villages, near the Ethiopian border with South Sudan.
According to an account provided about the establishment of the base, the would-be founders of the Anya-Nya II movement were directed to meet Elder John Dak Lampuar, a church leader in the area, who was asked to host and guide them in selecting a suitable site.
From Anya-Nya II to the SPLA: A Long Military Journey
Following the establishment of Bilpam, General Duit and other Anya-Nya II leaders became involved in a series of military and political realignments during the liberation struggle.
Following the arrival of thousands of people in Itang to join the liberation struggle, disagreements emerged among SPLA leaders over who should lead the movement, with divisions developing between Dr John Garang and Samuel Gai Tut.
Forces loyal to Gai Tut were subsequently dislodged from Itang and joined the Anya-Nya II forces at Bilpam.
This was followed by fierce confrontations between forces led by Dr Garang and those aligned with Gai Tut, who were also supported by Anya-Nya II fighters.
The fighting eventually forced the Anya-Nya II forces and Gai Tut’s supporters to abandon Bilpam and move towards Nasir in Sudan.
Years later, negotiations between the Anya-Nya II leadership and the SPLA led to agreements aimed at bringing elements of the movement into the SPLA in 1989.
The movement later experienced another major division following the 1991 Nasir Declaration, when Dr Riek Machar and other commanders broke away from the SPLM/A leadership under Dr John Garang de Mabior.
The breakaway group became known as the Nasir faction, further complicating the military and political alliances among former Anya-Nya II members.
Following the split, sections of the former Anya-Nya II forces remained aligned with Khartoum. General Gordon Koang Chuol emerged as a leading figure in the South Sudan Defence Forces (SSDF), whose forces continued to operate separately from the SPLA.
Although Dr Riek Machar rejoined the SPLM/A under Dr John Garang in 2002, General Duit and other commanders remained with South Sudan Defnse Forces under leadership of General Gordon Koang Chuol.
The SSDF continued to maintain its military presence outside the SPLA until 2012, when General Duit returned to the SPLA with his forces.
Rejoining the SPLA in 2012
In May 2012, Major General John Duit and his fighters broke away from the SSDF leadership under General Gordon Koang Chuol and crossed from Blue Nile State in Sudan into Upper Nile State in South Sudan.
Gen. Duit and his force, travelling in eight Toyota Land Cruisers mounted with 12.7 x 108 mm heavy machine guns and carrying various small arms and light weapons, entered Ruffa town the same morning.
The following day, 215 fighters, including Major General Duit, peacefully joined the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) in Adar, Upper Nile State.
A Veteran of South Sudan’s Liberation Struggle
General Duit was among the veterans whose military journey spanned different chapters of South Sudan’s struggle for freedom.
He served during Anyanya I, Anyanya II and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M), dedicating many years to the liberation struggle.
His generation included some of the historical military figures who devoted their lives to the liberation of the country.
Gen Duit was recognised among the military veterans of his time and served alongside the late General William Nyuon Bany and other commanders whose contributions remain part of South Sudan’s liberation history.
His passing is not merely the loss of an individual but also the loss of another living connection to the history, sacrifices, experiences and struggles that shaped the liberation of the country.
General Duit’s death marks the loss of a veteran figure associated with the history of South Sudan’s liberation struggle and the establishment of Bilpam.
