Kawac Makuei Mayar Kawac is a politician from South Sudan who was a leader in the Anyanya I independence movement during the First Sudanese Civil War (1955-1972) and in the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) during the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005).
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Kawac Makuei joined Anyanya I in 1963. By the time the Addis Ababa Accord of 1972 was signed he had become a major. He was one of the founders of the SPLA in 1983.[1] He became Commander of the Jamus battalion in the SPLA. In February 1984 Colonel Kawac Makuei led a successful operation into Wathkec, on the Mouth of the Jonglei Canal.[2] In 1986, he inspired thousands of recruits from Northern Bahr el Ghazal to make the long walk to Ethiopia.[3] In January 1990 the SPLM imprisoned Kawac Makuei and other influential figures in the movement, centralizing leadership around John Garang.[4]
On 21 April 1997 Kawac Makuei was among southern leaders who signed the Khartoum Peace Agreement of 1997, representing the Bahr al-Ghazal Independence Movement for Southern Sudan. The Agreement provided for self-governance of the south during a transitional period when a referendum would be held on the future form of government. It was boycotted by the SPLA.[5] He was appointed governor of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State. In June 1998 an attack was made on his house, apparently by members of a rival pro-government militia.[6]
The civil war ended in January 2005. Kawac Makuei was appointed Chairperson of the Southern Sudan War Veterans Commission by the Government of South Sudan.[1] In February 2010, he declared his candidacy for Governor of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, running on the United Democratic Salvation Front (UDSF) platform.[7] In the April 2010 election, incumbent Governor Paul Malong Awan Anei of the SPLM got 162,209, General Dau Aturjong Nyuol won 84,452 and Kawac Makuei Kawac trailed with 9,854 votes.[8]