Peace building and Conflict prevention continues to be an integral part of PROCMURA. This is in line with SDG 16; Promoting just, peaceful and inclusive societies. PROCMURA believes that peace and development are inter-twined and that there can be no peace without development and, likewise, no development without peace.
South Sudan which is the youngest African nation after gaining its independence in 2011, has had episodes of numerous continued conflicts leading to violence and loss of life and hunger. This has grossly affected the social fabric of the citizens of this young nation. It was hoped that gaining independence would be the beginning of a peaceful chapter, however, peace remains a pipe dream for the nationals of the world’s newest country. It is, basically, one of the most troubled country with no peace. The conflict has forced millions of people to flee their homes and become refugees as well as be internally displaced within their own country while several others have fled to neighboring countries in search of peace and a modest livelihood.
This situation, informs PROCMURA’s need to search for peace by building the capacity of religious leaders and empower them as stakeholders with requisite knowledge and skills in Religious Peace building. PROCMURA believes that religion undoubtedly creates a strong unifying force that brings together a variety of religions, ethnicities, nationalities, languages and economic backgrounds where other factors have been unable to do. Inter-faith relations and dialogue serve as important aspects in creating understanding between conflicting parties. PROCMURA has, therefore, begun a series of trainings for religious leaders in Africa to empower them with religious peace building skills in addition to the conventional skills that they have acquired over time.
Our focus was on South Sudan as a nation where a three day Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop on “The role of Religious Leaders in Preventing/Managing Conflict for Peace and Development in South Sudan” was organized. The workshop took place at the Juba Regency Hotel from 13th to 15th of October 2022, bringing together religious leaders drawn from various Churches and Mosques around Juba and Central Equatorial state.
The opening Ceremony was graced by key religious leaders, government officials, women, youth, lecturers, consultants, and the media which was also represented in numbers. All were full of expectations and eager to map a way forward and contribute to the call for peace in the their country.
The opening Ceremony was graced by key religious leaders, government officials, women, youth, lecturers, consultants, and the media which was also represented in numbers. All were full of expectations and eager to map a way forward and contribute to the call for peace in the their country.
Emeritus Bishop Enock Tombe, of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan and also a signatory to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of South Sudan presented the keynote address making a comprehensive analysis on the conflict affecting South Sudan before, after and post-independence of the young nation. He enumerated some of the factors that are perceived to have contributed to the ongoing crisis. Observing that the current political crisis started in the year 2013 as an internal disagreement within the ruling party which then degenerated into a military confrontation within the presidential guards in Juba eventually triggering violence at community levels in Bor, Malakal and Bentiu. Since then, South Sudan has been in an unstable situation which has compromised its development.
In his official address, Sheikh Elaish Chang Garkuoth, who was representing the General Secretary of the Islamic Council of South Sudan, thanked PROCMURA for organizing the workshop and bringing together all the key religious leaders in the state who he challenged to be more proactive in negotiating for peace in the country as they had very good platforms to lobby both the government and the general public as religious actors and restore peace in South Sudan. He reiterated that the Islamic Council of South Sudan was committed to work with Christians, other faith actors and the government to find sustainable solutions for the peace and development of South Sudan.
The Director of Religious Affairs in the Office of the President of the Republic of South Sudan Hon. Moses Telar on his part, also appreciated PROCMURA for initiating such a programme. Hon. Telar challenged the religious leaders to come up with tangible peace actions assuring them that this office would support peace initiatives by offering necessary support to bring peace and development in the country to enable our youth and the future generations to have a conducive and better environment to live in.
Additionally, he requested the PROCMURA delegation from Nairobi to join hands with the religious leaders and, if possible, set up a local office noting that South Sudan needed Peace Ambassadors and agents to transverse the expansive country to preach peace, promote tolerance with one another and seek for peaceful co-existence in the communities as people are divided along ethnic lines and the resources to sustain them for the longest time.
He noted that charity begins from home and, as such, more and more government officials and politicians required to undergo the training as their participation and unity will go a long way in contributing to the peacebuilding efforts. He also added that local stakeholders must bring on board locally made solutions to the problems facing them as they understood them a lot more.
The chairman of the PPROCMURA Area Committee in South Sudan Rev. Mark Akec who is also a former General Secretary of the South Sudan Council of Churches (SSCC) concluded the three-day workshop and thanked the religious leaders for actively participating in the workshop and heeding to PROCMURA’s call for Peace, Unity, Tolerance and Peaceful coexistence as pillars of development in South Sudan.
The workshop ended on a high note where participants were awarded with certificates of participation. They all committed to empower others and train more peace ambassadors in their respective organisations and work with PROCMURA in its peacebuilding efforts for the continent of Africa. This would enable them interconnect with other countries and draw best practices and modules of peaceful African communities.
A PEACE Network for both Christians and Muslims was unanimously formed and a committee set up to develop their action plans and terms of reference. The network will create space for engagement on issues of conflict prevention/management, peacebuilding, and development.
