In South Sudan, the John-Garang mausoleum, a symbol for the population

The bitumen is passed with a water jet, while the skeleton of a marquee is waiting to be dressed. Lined up facing the stone platform built for the occasion, teenagers rehearse the welcoming ceremony. Saturday, February 4, the pope will preside over an ecumenical prayer, before celebrating a mass the next day, in this iconic place of the youngest nation in the world: the John-Garang mausoleum.

On this site, in the heart of Juba, the capital of South Sudan, rests the remains of John Garang de Mabior, hero of the war waged between 1983 and 2005 against the central power of Khartoum. Six months after having pulled off a peace agreement providing for a referendum on self-determination, the warlord had perished in a supposed helicopter accident.

A place of public memory

He therefore did not attend the culmination of his struggle, the independence of South Sudan effective July 9, 2011. It was nevertheless a few meters from his burial that the Sudanese flag was returned by his successor, Salva Kiir, to the former President of Sudan, Omar El Bashir. In the aftermath, the South Sudanese flag was hoisted for the first time.

“This place belongs to everyone. I did not want to confiscate his body but to offer it to the people of South Sudan. That’s why I agreed to have him buried in the capital. Otherwise, he would have been buried in our home area, in Bor”, in Jonglei State, explains John Garang’s widow, Rebecca Nyandeng of Mabior, the only woman among the five vice presidents in office since 2020.

Already historic for having hosted a decisive battle between 1991 and 1992, this place placed under the control of the army hosts all the major celebrations and negotiations. The peace agreement signed on October 3, 2020 between the Sudanese government and several rebel groups in this country was signed there, for example. This is also where Independence and Martyrs’ Day are commemorated each year, fixed on the date of the death of “Doctor Garang”.

A future museum

“The presence of the pope and his prayers will add credibility to this space by giving it a sacred character that will oblige everyone to respect it,” said Chol Akuai. The area manager had been appointed John Garang’s bodyguard at the start of the war, a post he held until his death. He now oversees, through his company Atungdiak, a mega-project to transform the mausoleum.

Work will begin after the Pope’s visit and should be completed in early 2024. It includes, among other things, the construction of a pantheon above the remains and the digging of three large basins, fed by decorative waterfalls.

A museum dedicated to John Garang and his brothers in arms should follow “to prevent future generations from forgetting where they come from”, insists the Minister of Culture, Nadia Arop Dudi, in search of the necessary funds. And vice-president Rebecca Nyandeng of Mabior concludes: “The graves of those you love constantly remind you that their bodies may be gone, their spirits remain alive. »

Her grief remains intact nearly two decades after the sudden departure of her husband. It is a whole nation that will share its mourning, once again, during the Pope’s celebrations.

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