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South Sudanese Urged to Celebrate Martyrs Day by Thinking about Country’s Fallen Heroes

Bishop Alex Lodiong Sakor Eyobo of Yei Diocese in South Sudan. Credit: CRN

By Kerbino Kuel Deng

Yei, 01 August, 2023 / 8:49 pm (ACI Africa).

The best way to celebrate Martyrs Day in South Sudan is by reflecting on peace and contemplating the lives and the sacrifice of the country’s fallen heroes, a Catholic Bishop in the East-Central African country has said. 

Speaking on Sunday July 30 at Christ the King Parish in Yei, Bishop Alex Lodiong Sakor Eyobo urged the people of God in South Sudan to emulate the fallen heroes and heroines that the country has chosen to remember on Martyrs Day.

South Sudan celebrates Martyrs Day on July 30 to honor those who paid the ultimate price to have an independent country.

This year’s Martyrs Day celebrations in South Sudan fell on a Sunday and therefore, were extended to Monday July 31. 

July 30 also goes down in the history of South Sudan as the day that the late Dr. John Garang de Mabior, South Sudanese rebel leader died in a helicopter crash. Garang died in 2005 on his way back to Sudan after visiting his longtime friend, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. 

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“Reflect on peace…Think about the fallen heroes and heroines,” the 52 year-old Local Ordinary of the Catholic Diocese of Yei said, and added, “This day makes us remember all those who have sacrificed their lives for the sake of peace and freedom of this nation.”

He noted that those who had continued to participate in South Sudan’s peace process were also contributing immensely towards the freedom of the world’s youngest nation.

“Let’s look deep inside our hearts and contemplate the freedom whether it is functioning or not,” the Church leader who started his Episcopal Ministry in May 2022 said, adding that despite the efforts put in place, freedom and peace has not realized by the people in South Sudan “because some leaders in South Sudan are not doing what it takes to maintain that peace.”

Kerbino Kuel Deng

Kerbino Kuel Deng is a South Sudanese journalist who is passionate about Church communication. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.

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