[3][4] Malong was born in early 1962 in the village of Warawar, which is in the former Northern Bahr el Gazal state and situated about forty-five kilometers north of Aweil.

His father, Awan Anei, was a chief who governed his kinsmen in the Wun-Anei section of Abiem, situated in the current Aweil East state.

[clarification needed] In the order of their birth (excluding the deceased), the children of Aluat and Anei are Agot, Amou, Malong, and Atak.

He completed his intermediate education at St. James in Khartoum, where he participated in the clandestine formation of the Anyanya II movement in the Bahr el Gazal area.

Malong denied the accusation on Eye Radio, "I want to live as a normal person, as you know that this month of May is all concerning cultivation; my tractors are already in the fields that is why you have seen me heading to Aweil.

[17] Following his arrival in Nairobi, allegations of General Malong mobilizing against the Kiir government started circulating but were quickly denied as propaganda by his opponents.

However, on 9 April 2018, General Malong officially announced the formation of a rebel outfit, the South Sudan United Front/Army to topple the Kiir government.