David Yau Yau was a Governor of

Boma State Boma or BOMA may refer to: People * Boma Akpore, Nigerian actor * Boma Iyaye (born 1969), Nigerian accountant and politician Places * Boma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, a port city ** Boma Airport near Boma, Congo * Boma, Ghana, a town ...

and the Chief Administrator of the Greater Pibor Administrative Area of

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

. He was previously the leader of a Murle insurrection against the

ese government.

Early life and education

Yau Yau studied theology at Emmanuel Christian College in

Yei Yei is a medium-sized city in South Sudan's southwest. It lies close to the borders of two of the country's trading partners, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is a business hub, attracting traders and customers from all three ...

from 2004 to 2006.

Career

In 2010, Yau Yau was employed as County Secretary by the

South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission The South Sudan's Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC) is an agency of the Government of South Sudan. It is the operational arm of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management. The RRC in coordination with the IOM and UNOC ...

in Pibor County. Yau Yau ran in the April 2010 Sudanese general election for the Gumuruk Boma seat in the Jonglei State Assembly. The

SPLM The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM; ar, الحركة الشعبية لتحرير السودان, ''Al-Ḥarakat ash-Shaʿbiyyat liTaḥrīr as-Sūdān'') is a political party in South Sudan. It was initially founded as the political w ...

candidate Judi Jonglei Bioris won by a wide margin. Yau Yau is alternately reported to have been an independent candidate and a member of the United Democratic Front opposition party.

Insurgency and leadership of the Greater Pibor Administrative Area

After his failed bid for the state assembly, Yau Yau accused the SPLM of fraud and voter intimidation. On 20 May 2010 he led an armed group in a clash with the SPLA. One casualty was reported by the SPLA. Yau Yau indicated that he was in contact with

George Athor George Athor Deng (1962 – 19 December 2011) was the Sudan People's Liberation Army lieutenant general and a SPLA dissident who led the South Sudan Democratic Movement and its military wing, the South Sudan Defence Army. He was also an independ ...

, another failed Jonglei candidate who led the

South Sudan Democratic Movement The South Sudan Democratic Movement (SSDM), sometimes called the South Sudan Democratic Movement/Army (SSDM/A), was a South Sudanese militant group. Along with its armed wing, the South Sudan Defence Army (SSDA), rebelled against the government o ...

(SSDM) into rebellion for similar reasons. Yau Yau signed a ceasefire with the GoSS in June 2011, which integrated him and his militia with the SPLA. He had the rank of Brigadier General in the SPLA. In April 2012 he defected again, and lead a Murle-dominated militia in the South Sudan internal conflict for several years. Yau Yau became the head of the Murle insurrection and the militia that he led became known as the "Cobra Faction" of the SSDM. A March 2014 peace accord with the GoSS appointed Yau Yau as the Chief Administrator of a newly established, semi-autonomous Greater Pibor Administrative Area, with virtually the same authority as South Sudan's state governors. He gave up the leadership of his Cobra Faction which was dissolved after merger with the SPLM-IO-allied Greater Pibor Forces in January 2016. After leaving the post of leader of Cobra Faction, he joined the SPLM with some of his former accomplices.

Governor of Boma State and later career

In 2018, he was appointed gernor of

. Afterwards, the former troops of his

private army A private army (or private military) is a military or paramilitary force consisting of armed combatants who owe their allegiance to a private person, group, or organization, rather than a nation or state. History Private armies may form when l ...

were transported from Pibor to

Juba Juba () is the capital and largest city of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and also serves as the capital of the Central Equatoria State. It is the world's newest capital city to be elevated as such, and had a populatio ...

to be fully integrated into the SPLA. Yau Yau held his governorship until 2020, when Boma State was dissolved. The Greater Pibor Administrative Area was subsequently restored. Yau Yau continued to serve as a National Legislative Assembly member. In 2022, Yau Yau visited President Kiir's home state of Warrap with several of the president's aides. This was regarded by the news site ''African Arguments'' as possibly signalling that Kiir hoped to enlist Yau Yau's support for the

2023 South Sudanese general election General elections were scheduled to be held in South Sudan by 9 July 2015, the first since independence. However, in light of an alleged coup d'état attempt and continuing conflict in the country this has been thrown into doubt, especially since ...

Corruption

David Yau Yau is mentioned in the

Enough Project The Enough Project is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization that was founded in 2007. Its stated mission is to end genocide and crimes against humanity. The Enough Project conducts research in several conflict areas in Africa includi ...

's ''The Sentry'', an initiative designed to gather evidence and analyze the financing and operation of African conflicts. He was accused of profiteering in South Sudan's Civil War by forming an oil company with two British citizens during his governorship of Boma State. He denied the accusation.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yau Yau, David Living people People of the South Sudanese Civil War South Sudanese military personnel Year of birth missing (living people)