Wau Bishop Urges Citizens To Embark On Peace Building

This article was last updated on May 25, 2022

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He said that religious leaders coordinate believers in the state in order to influence peace and reconciliation.

Bishop Majak is also the chairman for the religious leaders for peace and reconciliation initiative in resolving the Wau crisis.

He said that violence is not acceptable and that the “the road ahead is to listen to one another to get engaged in dialogue, reconciliation and negotiation in order to bring everything to justice.”

“As a churches leader in this state, our role is to shown and to tell our people that they should not stay in violence but they should focus on peace and love to promote justice and forgiveness among them,” Majak said.

Majak also urged the people of Western Bahr el Ghazal state to be on alert against those who spread gossip which may incite violence and discrimination.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG), Ms Hilde Johnson arrived in Western Bahr el Ghazal state yesterday for official talks with state governor following the killing of dozens of citizens during the violence in December 2012.

She said that those arrested and responsible for the violence must be held accountable for their actions through the legal system and be tried in court.

She first held a closed door security meeting with state government officials and urged that leaders to make all possible efforts to ensure the incident never happen in the state again.

Governor Rizik Zackaria Hassan assured during the meeting said that his state has capacity to control security.

The violence in Wau started on 8th December when demonstrators marched in protest against the decision to take Wau County headquarters to Bagari town.

The Wau County headquarters transfer was backed by President Salva Kiir Mayardit during a visit to Western Bahr el Ghazal state on 24 December 2012.

The president said that there is nothing wrong with relocation of Wau County headquarters to Bagari as the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) party policy is for taking towns to people in the rural villages.

The president also instructed security personnel to identify individuals who burnt the national flag during the demonstrations in Wau in December 2012.

On 9 December, the security forces killed nine people when they opened fire on demonstrators angry at the relocation of a County headquarters to Bagari Town.

In protest, residents blocked roads out of Wau and the army was sent in to relieve the blockade.

The governor said the move by the state government to transfer Wau County head quarters to Bagari is not ill intentioned but rather extension of Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) vision of taking towns to the people.

The state government also formed an independent committee that comprise members of the national legislative assembly and the committee from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) will also investigate the incidents. 

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