William Deng Nhial

William Deng Nhial (died 5 May 1968) was an early political leader in the struggle for the independence of South Sudan who was assassinated in 1968.

William Deng was of Dinka origin, and was born in Tonj, then in Bahr al-Ghazal state. He joined the government as an administrator.

William Deng believed in Democratic Socialism, and in solidarity of African Sudanese in resisting Arab colonialism. He aimed for political partnership with indigenous African Sudanese people of Nuba, Fur, Beja, Nubia, Ingesenia and other parts of northern Sudan.

Some time after the army took power in 1958, William Deng fled into exile, as did other southern politicians including Fr. Saturnino Ohure, Joseph Oduho and Alexis Bakumba. Saturnino Ohure and Joseph Oduho moved from Uganda to Kinshasa, Zaire, where they were joined by William Deng and founded the Sudan African Closed Districts National Union (SACDNU). William Deng was appointed Secretary-General of SACNDU in 1962. William Deng and Joseph Oduho published the first formal declaration of Southern Sudan objectives in The Problem of the Southern Sudan (1962). In this paper they argued for independence of the non-Muslim south from the Muslim north of Sudan.

The exiles moved back to Kampala in Uganda in 1963, with the movement renamed the Sudan African National Union (SANU). The new name was designed to show solidarity with other African nationalist movements of the period. In Kampala SANU became the voice of the 60,000 refugees who had fled to camps in Zaire and Uganda, but was unable to establish a political presence in Sudan. The SANU leaders did manage to organize a loose guerrilla movement, the Anyanya, which began operating in Equatoria in 1963, conducting isolated raids and largely remaining independent of the politicians in Kampala.

William Deng was responsible for the Bahr al-Ghazal insurgents, who remained quiet until January 1964. That month a well-armed force led by Bernadino Mou Mou staged a successful attack in the state capital, Wau, killing over twelve soldiers and capturing automatic weapons. Although not a serious security threat, later attacks elsewhere and civilian demonstrations steadily eroded the authority of the military government.

In response to mounting pressure, the military ruler Major General Ibrahim Abboud announced the return of Sudan to civilian rule in November 1964, with elections planned for April 1965.

In February 1965 William Deng split with the exiled SANU leaders and returned to Sudan, causing a split into SANU-inside and SANU-outside wings, with Deng leading the "inside" wing and Aggrey Jadein leading the "outside" wing. SANU was formally registered as a political party in Sudan at a rally in Omdurman on 11 April 1965 attended by about 2,000 southerners. Deng's wing of SANU and the Southern Front, a mass organization led by Stanislaus Paysama, contested the April 1965 parliamentary elections. SANU was an active force in Sudanese politics for the next four years, advocating southern autonomy within a federal structure. The exiled SANU leaders did not accept Deng's moderate approach, and formed the Azania Liberation Front in Kampala, Uganda. SANU-outside saw no case for retaining union with the north, while the Southern Front wanted a plebiscite to choose between autonomous rule, federation, unity or secession.

The optimism in the south with the return to democracy quickly wore off as the new government under president Mohamed Ahmed Mahgoub began a savage persecution of educated southerners in Khartoum and in the south.

Despite this, William Deng invested considerable time and effort trying to convince government leaders of the benefits of solving the north-south conflict. He pointed out the unwanted truth that the northern soldiers stationed in the south were in charge in daytime, but not at night. If the stalemate were ended, military costs would drop and the south could supply the north with food, with enough left over for export. He was not successful in his arguments.

In the 1968 election, William Deng won his seat by a landslide, but was assassinated just as the results were announced. Deng and others in his party were killed on 5 May 1968 in Cueibet County, Lakes State in a place that is now called William Bridge. There was little doubt that the army was responsible, although the government accused the rebels. The government ordered an investigation, but never issued a report on what had happened. According to Muhammad Omar Bashir, "The murder of William Deng represented a great setback in North-South relations. Deng's decision to return to the Sudan in 1965 to attend the Round Table Conference and his participation in that event, in the Twelve-Man Committee, in the Political Parties Conference and in the National Constitution Commission had all made a positive contribution to the search for a solution of the Southern problem.

After his death, William Deng was buried in his home town in Tonj South County. Deng is now considered a national hero. However, his grave fell into disrepair, partly used as a garbage site, partly for local breweries. In May 2011 residents in the immediate area of the grave were given one month's notice to leave so that the site could be cleaned up.

His son Nhial Deng Nhial later became a leading politician in the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement, and in December 2008 was appointed Minister for SPLA Affairs, or Defense Minister.