Gatluak Gai

Who is Gatluak Gai?

Gatluak Gai was a member of the Sudan People's Liberation Army who rebelled after the April 2010 elections and led a renegade militia in the volatile Unity state of South Sudan.

Gatluak was of Nuer origin, from Koch County. He was a relatively junior SPLA officer on the payroll of the Unity state prisons department. He was said to have wanted to become the Koch county commissioner, but lost this opportunity when Taban Deng Gai was appointed governor of Unity state in 2008. In the April 2010 general elections, Taban Deng Gai successfully defended his governorship against challenger Angelina Teny, wife of South Sudan vice president Riek Machar. Gatluak Gai did not accept the election results, which were widely seen as flawed. Although Angelina Teny disputed the election results, she disclaimed any connection with Gatluak Gai's rebellion.

In late May 2010, Gatluak Gai's forces attacked an SPLA base at Awarping in Abiemnom County. It was suspected that Gatluak Gai led the forces responsible for attacks that killed over 35 people, including many civilians, in Koch County. Gai was residing in Khartoum at this time.