Ezboni Mondiri Gwanza

Ezboni Mondiri Gwanza was a politician in Southern Sudan. He was one of the founders of the Southern Sudan Federal Party (SSFP) in 1957, which competed in the Sudanese parliamentary election in 1958. Later he was active in secessionist movements.

Ezboni Mondiri Gwanza was a student at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Khartoum, active in the Southern Student's Welfare Front. After graduating he became an official at the Shell Company.

Sudan became independent on 1 January 1956. In 1957 Ezboni and other young intellectuals and university graduates from the south decided to found a party to advocate policies needed by the south. The founders called the party the Southern Federal Party, Federal Party and the Federalist Party. The party constitution laid out principles that included calling for an equal federation of northern and southern states, with English and Arabic given equal recognition. The state would be secular, with Islam and Christianity recognized as the two major religions but respecting other religions. The south would have a separate civil service, educational system and army.

Father Saturnino Lohure Hilangi was another founder of the Southern Sudan Federal Party (SSFP), which beat the Liberals and won forty seats in the parliamentary elections held in February and March 1958. When the SSFP spoke up in parliament for the north to consider Sudanese federation, as promised, the government arrested Mondiri and the SSFP broke up. In its place, Father Saturnino formed the Southern Block, with 25 members.

The Sudanese parliament was dissolved in November 1958 after a military coup by General Ibrahim Abboud. In December 1960 Ezboni was arrested and sentenced to ten years in prison. In October 1964 General Ibrahim Abboud yielded to pressure and established a caretaker government of senior politicians to form the government until democratic elections could be held the next year. Sirr al-Katim al-Khalifa was appointed Prime Minister, with three southerners in his cabinet: Ezbon Mondiri Gwanza, Clement Mboro and Gordon Muortat Mayen.

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