Photo: Spy Uganda
He was too young to fight in the First Sudanese War
At 17 years old, Garang wanted to join the first Sudan civil war, but the leaders at the time considered him too young and encouraged him and his age mates to earn an education.
Garang, whose fees were paid by relatives after his parents’ death, went to Tanzania to complete his secondary school education before joining the Grinnell College in Iowa, United States and later the University of Dar es Salaam for his graduate studies.
He later went back to Sudan to fight for the rebels and when the ceasefire happened in 1972, he was absorbed into the Sudanese military. He later went back to school to earn his PhD.
