The Final Walk

Many said they had waited their whole lives for this moment, the “final walk to freedom”. South Sudan has been embroiled by two civil wars since independence in 1956, with just over a decade of respite. It ended in 2005 with a peace agreement, which defined January 9th 2011 as the day of self-determination. Even until several weeks ago, many doubted that this day would actually arrive.

At the John Garang mausoleum in Juba, the future-capital’s main polling station, queues had already formed at sunrise, full of people ready to cast their ballot for secession. This was the day they had been waiting for.