{"id":43928,"date":"2026-04-15T16:29:56","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T14:29:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=43928"},"modified":"2026-04-15T16:29:56","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T14:29:56","slug":"governor-enlists-religious-leaders-in-peace-outreach-to-armed-groups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/15\/governor-enlists-religious-leaders-in-peace-outreach-to-armed-groups\/","title":{"rendered":"Governor enlists religious leaders in peace outreach to armed groups"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>By Jackson Gaaniko\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Governor of Western Equatoria State has reaffirmed his administration\u2019s commitment to\u00a0 peace, stability, and reconciliation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He called for stronger collaboration with religious leaders to help end violence and promote unity across communities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Speaking during a peace engagement with faith leaders, the governor said peace-building efforts must be strengthened through inclusive dialogue, community outreach.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The governor added that trust-building initiatives to reach all groups, including those still operating in the bush will be made.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He announced that religious leaders will be given the mandate to engage armed groups and individuals who are hesitant or afraid to communicate with authorities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The governor cited that their role is vital in bridging the gap between communities and government.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe are giving you full freedom to reach out to those in the bush, those who are afraid to speak, and those who find it difficult to engage,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He added that faith-based organizations can help bring people together for dialogue and reconciliation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The governor also said the government is considering reintegration measures, including possible amnesty for young people who have taken up arms but are willing to return home and embrace peace.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He made a strong appeal to armed youth still in the bush, urging them to abandon violence and return home, stressing that continued conflict only deepens suffering and slows down development.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cFor how long shall we continue to kill ourselves when we have abundant resources?\u201d he said, calling on communities to choose peace as the only path to progress.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He further emphasized that his administration is fully committed to ensuring that Western Equatoria does not return to war.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The governor also aligned his message with broader religious and global peace appeals, including references to Pope Francis, urging communities to embrace non-violence, unity, and reconciliation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The remarks come amid renewed efforts by state authorities and partners to strengthen peacebuilding initiatives through dialogue, religious engagement, and community reconciliation aimed at restoring lasting stability in Western Equatoria State.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Jackson Gaaniko\u00a0 The Governor of Western Equatoria State has reaffirmed his administration\u2019s commitment to\u00a0 peace, stability, and reconciliation.\u00a0 He called for stronger collaboration with religious leaders to help end violence and promote unity across communities. Speaking during a peace engagement with faith leaders, the governor said peace-building efforts must<a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/15\/governor-enlists-religious-leaders-in-peace-outreach-to-armed-groups\/\">[Read More&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43929,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WES-Governor-Badagbu-Daniel-Rimbasa-Addressing-Media.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43928"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43930,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43928\/revisions\/43930"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}