South Sudan clerics warn politicians against exploiting citizens’ resilience

JUBA – The South Sudan Council of Churches has warned that the country’s leaders are exploiting the resilience of the people of South Sudan over the recurring extension of the transitional period.

This comes less than a week after President Salva Kiir Mayardit and First Vice President Riek Machar, who is also the leader of the main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO), extended the transitional period for two years.

According to the deal reached last Saturday, the transitional period will now run through February 2027. Elections, which were initially slated for December 2024, will now be conducted in December 2026, two months before the end of the transitional period.

In a statement following a meeting yesterday, the South Sudan Council of Churches said the country’s political leaders did not implement the agreement out of lack of political will, and that they are exploiting the resilience of the country’s citizens.

“The Church has been keenly following the implementation of the roadmap, all the reasons highlighted for this extension were all stated during the previous extensions, the Church realized that, because of lack of political will, all the key important provisions in the roadmap remained unimplemented,” the statement seen by Sudans Post reads in part.

“Though, there is a need for a political decision to ensure sustainable peace in South Sudan, the political elites and parties to the agreement should not continuously exploit the resilience of the people of South Sudan, they should stick to their promises,” it added.

The statement further called on political leaders and party signatories to the revitalized peace agreement to prioritize peace and address issues such as floodings which has displaced many citizens, and the resettlement of IDPs and refugees displaced by the 2013-2018 civil war.

“As a Church, we urge all stakeholders to prioritize peace, healing and reconciliation, and ensure that the affected people in the flooded areas, refugees, and IDPs are assisted, including redeeming the current dire economic crisis and paying civil servants and organized forces timely,” the statement said.

“We remind the political leaders to remain committed to their promises and calls during the South Sudan Spiritual Leadership retreat in Rome 2019 and the Ecumenical Peace Pilgrimage of Pope Francis, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland to South Sudan in 2023,” they added.

The statement also thanked the international community for the support to peace efforts in the world’s youngest country.

“We appreciate and urge the regional and international community and our Ecumenical partners to continue supporting the people of South Sudan in their pursuit for peace and developments. As a Church, we remain prayerfully vigilant, and closely following peace implementation and political development in our Country,” they concluded.