John Granville, Rest in Peace

My heart goes out to Granville's family in Buffalo, NY and elsewhere. May his soul rest in peace.

At the wee hours of the first day of the first month of 2008, John, aged 33, was shot as he was driven home by his Sudanese driver, Allah yihamu, returning from a New Year's party. Most articles on the net rehash the same information.

Some of those could be read here, here and here.

A compendium to this CV and his radio distribution project in the Sudan could be found at the USAID website

John’s fellowship focuses on community participation in government and NGO capacity building in South Sudan. Using tools such as community needs assessments and interactive problem solving models, John works to create collaboration and cooperation between citizens and government. Currently he is working to bring radios to the population of South Sudan in order to maximize the impact of USAID’s broadcasting initiatives in the region.
John is a former Peace Corps volunteer and has worked in Sudan as a consultant for USAID and GOAL-Ireland. With GOAL, he designed and implemented an HIV/AIDS Participatory Action Assessment. He has studied as a Fulbright Fellow and received an MA in International Development and Social Change from Clark University in 2003.

In my humble opinion the perpetrator(s) could be

- Sudanese: which I wouldn't entirely dismiss given the latest surge of hardcore Islamist sentiments towards anything and everything Western.
- Al-Qaeda: regardless of what's portrayed in the media about that organizations elements in the Sudan, I do not find a direct causal relationship between John and his activities in particular and their resentment other than him being an American diplomat.
- Non-Sudanese: After my last visit to the Sudan I was dumbfounded by the aggrandizing infiltration of Ninja non-Sudanese women in my very neighbourhood who were married to mid-calf jilabiya wearing, bear growing followers of the Prophet from Syria, Somalia and Iraq. Those did not hide their scornful stares at ME, in my own court, for my non-Islamic appearance.


Whoever the perpetrator is, they fill me with opprobrium for their heinous act of shedding the blood of an innocent soul (I do not care if he was a CIA agent working undercover as an USAID worker). This assassination is an act of shame!!!


Condolences to AbdulRaham Abbas' family too. Inna lillah wa innah ilayhi raji3oon.