Yei County Remains Peaceful During Festivities Although this year’s Christmas festivities have been interrupted by the ongoing fighting in some parts of the country, Yei River County had a different face as thousands of Christians followers gathered in churches to remember the birth of Christ. 27 December 2013
*By Petia Suliman Loro * *YEI, 26 December, 2013 [Gurtong] –*Messages about reconciliation, peace, forgiveness and denouncing of the current armed political upheaval in the country were the flying messages across the pulpits, as Bishops; pastors and churches laymen emphasized more on the roles of the Christians in bringing the last peace in South Sudan through faithful and dedicated prayers to the almighty God. The Members of parliament from Central Equatoria State Assembly, chiefs, councilors, the County and Municipal Council leaderships made it to their various religious attachments to share in the experience of the birth of Jesus Christ and also to jointly lift the ruining country in prayer before God so that peace prevails in the country. The day was colored by various South Sudanese Gospel and secular artists holding music concerts at various entertainment centers across the county. Lady Amina, a renounced South Sudanese Gospel icon in Yei surprised Christians at Youth Garden with her newly released video “Jerusalem” attended by hundreds including Her Worship Mayor Oba Cecilia Tito of Yei Municipality. Hundreds of other citizens after the worship turned up at Yei Freedom square to socialize and have funs with the hope of stretching their bodies traditionally, unfortunately, things were different this year, as no traditional dances, football tournaments being organized, but the celebration mode never faded out in the county. Late in the evening after the official celebration time of 6pm, families preceded with the festive mode at their various residential areas until midnight as their bodies started demanding for rest. The Security personnel as instructed by the authorities in Yei County and municipality performed great job in protecting the citizens, monitoring who comes in and going out during the celebration as traffic built up in the street of Yei. Juma David Augustine, the commissioner of Yei River County, confirmed to Gurtong on phone that the celebration in the county was successful and peaceful as no cases of human rights abuses, looting, and harassment were reported among the security personnel on patrol and also among the natives. He said it is their responsibility as a government to protect and make the civilians to enjoy the celebrations. Juma praised all the residents of Yei River County for having maintained high standards of discipline and cooperating with the government to maintain peace in the community, adding that citizens should continue with this spirit of promoting peace and harmony among the communities in the county. He encouraged all the citizens to hold firm to the hope and trust in the government that things will soon be normal in the nation, despite the fear on the ongoing political unrest in the country as the government is in control. Yei River County is a home to almost all the tribes of South Sudan who converged in the county for settlement, quality education, businesses and good climatic conditions. As more people are still coming in day and night, worries of pressure on the basic services develops in the county, but the County authority confirmed strategies being developed and put up to address crisis. Posted in: Home<http://www.gurtong.net/ECM/Editorial/tabid/124/ctl/CategoryView/mid/519/categoryId/1/Home.aspx>, Governance<http://www.gurtong.net/ECM/Editorial/tabid/124/ctl/CategoryView/mid/519/categoryId/6/Governance.aspx> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14oprzfVTA%3D9jSb2PKVw6UY5%2BQC4s2aiCNZTN8B9Z1QXkLg%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
