He continues, “I therefore ask the entire people of God for prayers for the safety of Fr. Luke and his Driver. At the same time, I ask for Calm and Restrain from negative emotions from all of us, while waiting for the State Government to take immediate and appropriate actions.”
“We are waiting for your quick response to this matter,” he says.
In a Monday, April 29 statement he addressed to South Sudan’s President, Salva Kiir Mayardit, Bishop Hiiboro seeks the President’s “intervention for the release and safety” of Fr. Luka and Michael, who, he says, “are both missing for the last two days between Nagero County and Tombura County, the Wau road.”
Fr. Luke, he explains, “had gone on a pastoral mission to serve the people of God in Nagero County where he has been working. On his return on 27th April 2024, we lost contact with him to date. The area where he and his driver went missing is under the control of the SPLM/ (10) forces.”
“As a church, we appeal to Your Excellency to help us bring Fr. Luka and those with him alive,” Bishop Hiiboro says in his April 29 letter to President Kiir, which he shared with ACI Africa.
Referring to his April 28 statement, the Catholic Church leader says, “I have written to the Governor of Western Equatoria State on the matter, and sought help from county authority of the area without success. I am convinced that at this critical moment, the President of the Republic is the only person with the power to save and bring back the priest and his driver to us.”
He emphasizes, “Your Excellency, I am deeply concerned about his disappearance and the state of affairs in Tombura County. You have to come in direct and impose state of Emergency. Your prompt response to this message will be greatly appreciated.”
Earlier, in an audio recording that ACI Africa obtained on April 28, Bishop Hiiboro explains the need for the President to “impose the state of emergency” in the South Sudanese County of Western Equatoria State.
“I cannot believe that in a given country people can go out and kill each other, burn their houses, make others disappear, cause violence and the whole structure of the government is there, looking and sitting and watching this. I cannot believe this,” he laments.
President Kiir, Bishop Hiiboro says, “is the one to bring peace to Tombura; nobody else. He has to, because he's the president of the Republic of South Sudan. Nobody can do it better than him. He has the power, he has the influence ... we have given him the power to rule the people of South Sudan.”
