The Sudan Handbook

tWEntiEth-CEntuRy CiVil WaRs 209

no clear objective: some wanted to delay the departure of the British,

others proclaimed an intention to unite with Egypt. There were no

strong demands for southern independence at this point. While there

was widespread anxiety in the south, the lack of organization and clear

objectives of the mutiny meant it could not mobilize general popular

support. In Wau the northern administrators agreed to leave the province

administration in the hands of their southern junior colleagues, among

them police inspector Gordon Muortat Mayen, who later, as president of

the Nile Provisional Government in the 1960s, become a leading advocate

for southern independence. But in 1955 he helped to keep the province

quiet, and the mutiny soon subsided after the arrival of reinforcements

from the north and the majority of mutineers fled either to Uganda or

the bush.

One unintended consequence of the mutiny was that it accelerated

Britain’s departure from the Sudan before a constitutional arrangement

could be put in place. Shocked by the scale of the outbreak of violence in

the south, concerned that continuing unrest would offer the Egyptians

an opportunity to increase their military presence in the Sudan, and

conscious of their lingering responsibility without authority, Britain

urged the Sudanese government of prime minister Ismail al-Azhari

to circumvent the self-determination plebiscite and opt for a declara-

tion of independence through parliament. Southern members at first

balked at this extra-constitutional measure, but were persuaded to vote

for independence on the promise that a federal constitution would be

‘considered’. So on 1 January 1956, a year earlier than expected, without

a permanent constitution, and through a vote in a parliament that had

exceeded its mandate, the Sudan became independent.

Failure of the Federal Option

One reason why it is incorrect to date the start of the civil war to the Torit

Mutiny is that aside from the activities of a few dispersed mutineers,

there was very little fighting in the south for the rest of the decade.

The Sudan Handbook, edited by John Ryle, Justin Willis, Suliman Baldo and Jok Madut Jok. © 2011 Rift Valley Institute and contributors Southern political leaders instead focused on the promise of a federal

(www.riftvalley.net).