Ms. Adut Salva Kiir, newly appointed Senior Presidential Envoy for Special Programs - Courtesy

“Wun Weng” literally Jieng/Dinka word for the ‘Owner of the cow’. In the Jieng’s folktales, it is said “When the lion attacked and killed one cow during grazing, it always ignores any attempt by herdsman or any other passerby helper to rescue the prey— citing the fact that none of them is a true owner, particularly when they come closer to lion armed with spears or bow and arrows. The owner always comes unarmed and jumps into where his/her cow is being eaten.

The owner of a cow doesn’t care, if, he gets eaten together with his cow, and the lion knows this. In most cases, the lion feels its guilt and often jumps off and disappears.

Moral of the story, unlike many — including myself when I was there for nine years, Ms. Adut Salva Kiir Mayardit shall always see the same future with her father — good or bad. Not everyone who works with/for the President is thinking of facing the same future as the President comes to the critical end.

Some are there to make money, save it in secure foreign banks, and think of jumping off when the hour comes. Unfortunately, sometimes it comes a bit too late— check the story of Dr. Ali al Haj Mohammed of the Sudan. That is why some of us who left that office poor and completely helpless still maintain the integrity with utmost loyalty. I knew the perception about those who have once worked in the office of the President is unreasonably compelling.

As the first daughter of the President with the First Lady, Mary Ayen Mayardit, Ms. Adut Kiir won’t be desperate attempting to spread gossip against her to her father. The country, and particularly the office of the President, is engulfed by some of the best-known gossipers on earth. They gossip-to-finish, even the supposedly trained gossipers like spy-masters. And Adut shall not be afraid of being gossiped about, for she is there to be accountable while she works with her dad or not. She is a member of the first family by birth, anyway.

Unlike some desperate men/women masquerading as saviors in that office, Ms. Adut Kiir Mayardit won’t need witchcraft to supplement her stay in the Office of the President. So, I am sure her appointment marks the arrival of the owner of a cow. She deserves this position the most.

Notwithstanding, I urge Ms. Adut Kiir Mayardit to be mindful of manipulation from anyone, anywhere, if she must work to help her dad achieve a legacy of a proud, honest and humble man. She should not work for money. The money without a secured future is as nothing as not having it.

As the Presidential Envoy on Special Programs — the position from which Dr. Benjamin Bol Mel acceded to the dominant political space, Ms. Adut Kiir has to do better than anyone in that office. But, if she finds herself maintaining the same practice, the competition for more space around the President to whom she was born, and has already spent much of her 40-plus years together as her father, then the hope everyone has bestowed upon her the moment she was appointed, would come to wane at rocket speed.

Through her father, the President, Ms. Adut, to whom I knew, like her father, she is humble, composed and bears a very bright and broader understanding of the political environment, should at least try to shape the image of the highest office in the land. She mustn’t get into the business of oil money. Money comes and goes, but the opportunity of being blessed to be part of the first family is just once in a lifetime. Unlike others, Adut can find money even without being in a position of government. So, she must turn this opportunity into promoting the image of her father’s administration.

Finally, the author’s opinion about Ms. Adut Kiir’s appointment as Senior Presidential Envoy on Special Programs is positive. This is her right to excel in her political career. As all citizens are equal before the law, Ms. Adut’s right even to become the President herself should not be limited to her being the daughter of the serving President. So, congratulations, Adut Kiir Mayardit. The sky should be your limit.

The author is the former Press Secretary in the Office of the President and a former Member of the NCRC 2011. He could be reached at atenypiokerwek@gmail.com

Editor’s Note: The views expressed in the above article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Eye Radio. All claims made are the author’s responsibility alone.