Advertisement

Catholic Priest in South Sudan Urges Government to “work hard to end rampant killings”

Fr. Emmanuel Lodongo Sebit, the Chancellor of the Catholic Diocese of Yei, South Sudan, during the Papal Mass at Dr. John Garang Mausoleum on 5 February 2023. Credit: ACI Africa

A Catholic Priest serving in South Sudan’s Yei Diocese has called on the government of the East-Central African nation to work towards ending “rampant killings” in the country amid recent reports of violent conflicts.

On March 4, five people were reportedly killed and nine others injured, after armed men attacked a local market in Lainya County of Central Equatoria State, an area covered by South Sudan’s Catholic Diocese of Yei, Eye Radio reported.

In his Sunday, March 5 homily, Fr. Emmanuel Lodongo Sebit condemned the killings and called on the government to bring the culprits to justice.

“The government needs to work hard to bring these killings to an end because our people cannot be killed and displaced all the time by people who came from somewhere,” Fr. Lodongo, the Chancellor of Yei Diocese, said.

He faulted the South Sudanese government for “keeping quiet” despite the fact that the crimes committed are in the public domain. 

Advertisement

“Government should not keep quiet seeing the people suffering like this and they are not acting to solve this issue,” the member of the Clergy of Yei Diocese said, adding, “The people who are being killed are the children of God.”

Fr. Lodongo advocated for the withdrawal of criminals from communities, saying, “If there are people within the community that are causing all this violence, they should be taken away for our people to rest.”

“Why should we keep killing our brothers and sisters who are innocent,” he posed, adding that normalcy needs to return so that the people of God in South Sudan can “freely” carry out their respective activities.

During the March 4 attack on the market in Lainya County, the South Sudanese Catholic Priest said, “Some people were also abducted and taken to unknown locations.”

There was also looting, Fr. Lodongo lamented, and cautioned against “revenge killings.”

More in Africa

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.