“There are many cases of conflict within our communities; it’s your role as young people to go and bring them to an end,” he told the 50 youth who were drawn from the Parishes of Wau Diocese on the last of the two-day training that targeted Pastoral Agents in the South Sudanese Diocese.
Mr. Ndenge challenged the South Sudanese government to support youth-led peace-building initiatives, including the countering of vices such as “hate speech” and violence in local communities.
Violence, tribalism, and hatred have been issues of concern for the Local Ordinary of Wau Diocese.
On November 21, Bishop Matthew Remijio called upon young people to put an end to the tendency to prioritize ethnic identities manifested in what he termed the “virus” of tribalism and nepotism.
In his homily during the Thanksgiving Holy Mass to mark the conclusion of the 2022 Youth Conference, Bishop Remijio said ending tribalism and nepotism will make citizens value each other.
“We need to end this virus called tribalism and nepotism to help our people, especially the youth, to be together and have equal opportunities with others,” Bishop Remijio said, and added, “Working on reducing the rate of nepotism in the country will help our people, especially the young people to get the jobs they are looking for.”
The South Sudanese member of Comboni Missionaries (MCCJ) said he found it regrettable that nepotism “remains a matter of concern” despite efforts to reduce the vice in the world’s youngest nation.
The 50-year-old Catholic Bishop who has been at the helm of Wau Diocese since his Episcopal Ordination in January 2021 went on to say, “Nepotism becomes a big problem among our people because some people don’t consider others who are not their relatives to get jobs which make them end up unemployed.”
Patrick Juma Wani is a South Sudanese journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. Patrick holds a Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication from Makerere Institute for Social Development (MISD) in Uganda. He has over 7 years of extensive experience in leading the development and implementation of media, advocacy, communication and multimedia strategy and operations, with an excellent track record of editorial leadership, budget management, and stakeholder outreach. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.
