The recent mysterious disappearance of the Rev. Luke Yugue and his driver, Michael Gbeko, in South Sudan has left many Christians within the central African country fearful about their safety and afraid to perform ministry work across the troubled nation.
The two are believed to have been kidnapped by ethnic militia forces on April 27 while traveling by road on a motorcycle from the Nagero Catholic parish to Tombura county within the state of Western Equatoria, bordering the Central African Republic and Congo.
Religious leaders, especially those from the Catholic Church, have been urging congregants across the country of greater than 12.7 million people, about 61% of them Christian, to hope for the protection of the missing priest and his driver. The leaders have also been desperately appealing to the federal government to assist in the discharge of the 2, who’re believed to be held hostage, and to declare a state of emergency within the region where the kidnapping occurred.
The recent mysterious disappearance of the Rev. Luke Yugue and his driver, Michael Gbeko, in South Sudan has left many Christians within the central African country fearful about their safety and afraid to perform ministry work across the troubled nation.
The two are believed to have been kidnapped by ethnic militia forces on April 27 while traveling by road on a motorcycle from the Nagero Catholic parish to Tombura county within the state of Western Equatoria, bordering the Central African Republic and Congo.
Religious leaders, especially those from the Catholic Church, have been urging congregants across the country of greater than 12.7 million people, about 61% of them Christian, to hope for the protection of the missing priest and his driver. The leaders have also been desperately appealing to the federal government to assist in the discharge of the 2, who’re believed to be held hostage, and to declare a state of emergency within the region where the kidnapping occurred.
The country descended into civil war in December 2013, when Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar and 10 others of attempting a coup. Even though the conflict ended with a 2018 peace agreement that brought Kiir and Machar together, the country continues to see widespread fighting and kidnappings, especially in rural areas.
Between 2013 and 2018, reports indicate, nearly 400,000 people were killed consequently of the civil war. The conflict also left over 4 million South Sudanese displaced from their homes, with nearly 2.3 million fleeing to neighboring countries, including Uganda and Kenya.
Dozens of church leaders have been kidnapped or killed by government soldiers or rebels in the last decade of fighting. The majority of them were kidnapped or killed while carrying out pastoral duties the world over’s youngest nation.
Evangelist Mayol Kuot noted that the recent disappearance of spiritual leaders highlights the continuing instability within the country and disrupts their ability to offer spiritual guidance, counseling, health care, education and other assistance to the populace, in addition to take care of orphans and youngsters.
“The recent kidnapping of the priest is shocking to us. It shows that the safety situation within the country will not be improving in any respect,” said Kuot, who ministers in Malakal, a town in northeastern South Sudan. “We at the moment are afraid of going out in distant areas to evangelise the Word of God and serve vulnerable individuals who want our help as religious leaders.”
Kuot said he has had friends who were murdered or kidnapped by unknown gunmen in road ambushes and churches while ministering. This causes other clergy within the country to be “demoralized,” he said, and unable to proceed working freely because of fear of attacks.
“You cannot effectively work in such an environment when you find yourself unsure if you happen to will return home secure after ministering to people,” Kuot said. “We need protection from the federal government to proceed ministering to the suffering people of South Sudan who’ve been displaced from their homes because of war.”
The Rev. Thomas Agou Kuur said dozens of his colleagues from the Episcopal Church have lost their lives because the civil war began within the country. Kuur, who’s the assistant bishop of Bor Diocese, said that the people of South Sudan, especially militia groups, don’t respect church leaders and as a substitute kill them based on ethnicity.
The Dinka and Nuer are the 2 largest ethnic groups in South Sudan, they usually have been fighting one another for political and economic power since even before the civil war. The Dinka ethnic group generally supports Kiir, while the Nuer ethnic group backs Machar.
“When militias from Dinka get a priest from the Nuer tribe, they’ll just kill him without considering that he’s a priest serving everyone. It’s the identical situation when militias from Nuer get a Dinka priest,” he said.
“We should care and love one another because all of us belong to God, and due to this fact, we must always respect human life,” Kuur added.
Meanwhile, Kussala, the bishop of Tombura-Yambio, urged communities and political leaders to reconcile their differences and pursue peace, justice and reconciliation for the sake of the suffering people of South Sudan.
“I need to appeal for an end to violence within the country since it’s destroying our lives and livelihoods each day,” he said, declaring tribalism and hatred because the most important enemy of South Sudanese. “As a church, we’ll proceed to walk the trail of peace and to succeed in out to the vulnerable who want our help. We urge the federal government to guard the country from violence and church leaders as they perform their ministries.”
© Religion News Service
