{"id":45487,"date":"2026-06-19T14:43:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T12:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=45487"},"modified":"2026-06-19T14:43:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T12:43:13","slug":"yei-mourns-plane-crash-victim-santino-bakata-as-leaders-call-for-faith-and-unity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/19\/yei-mourns-plane-crash-victim-santino-bakata-as-leaders-call-for-faith-and-unity\/","title":{"rendered":"Yei mourns plane crash victim Santino Bakata as leaders call for faith and unity"},"content":{"rendered":"

By James Innocent<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u200eHundreds of mourners, including government officials, religious leaders, relatives, and community members, gathered to pay their final respects to Santino Bakata, one of the victims of the recent Luri plane crash involving a City Link Aviation aircraft en route to Juba.<\/p>\n

\u200eBakata, a respected family man with more than 15 children, was laid to rest on Thursday at his home in Hai Eraf, Yei. His body arrived in Yei on Wednesday afternoon, where relatives and community members held a vigil ahead of the burial ceremony.<\/p>\n

\u200eYei River County Commissioner Samuel Henry Malimbo, clergy from various denominations, and representatives from different communities across the county attended the funeral.<\/p>\n

\u200eSpeaking during the burial, Selestino Atama, Chairperson of the Organising Committee, expressed gratitude to county authorities, religious institutions, and residents for their support to the bereaved families.<\/p>\n

\u200e”The loss of the 14 victims in the plane crash has deeply shocked the people of Yei and beyond,” Atama said. “The solidarity shown by the community during this difficult period demonstrates the unity of our people.”<\/p>\n

\u200eReligious leaders used the occasion to encourage mourners to remain steadfast in faith despite the tragedy.<\/p>\n

\u200eBishop Levi Marandulu Yopete of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan (ECSS) Diocese of Yei announced that preparations are underway for a collective memorial service for all 14 victims once all families have completed burial arrangements.<\/p>\n

\u200e”We are waiting to announce a date for a one-day memorial prayer service at Yei Freedom Square after all the victims have been laid to rest,” the bishop said.<\/p>\n

\u200eHe urged residents to remain committed to their faith and continue seeking God’s guidance amid life’s challenges.<\/p>\n

\u200eCommissioner Malimbo extended condolences to Bakata’s family, particularly his wives and children, encouraging them to seek comfort through prayer and faith.<\/p>\n

\u200e”The death of Santino Bakata is not only a loss to the Tore community but to the entire nation,” Malimbo said. “As we mourn, let us continue to pray for the families affected and for the souls of all those who lost their lives in this tragedy.”<\/p>\n

\u200eThe Chairperson of the Memorial Prayers Committee, Father Joseph Arike, who also serves as the Vicar General of the Catholic Diocese of Yei, reminded mourners of the importance of spiritual reflection.<\/p>\n

\u200e”Our lives belong to God, and ultimately, He determines our time on earth,” Father Arike said. He noted that organisers had initially considered a joint burial for the victims but later agreed to allow families to conduct individual burials before holding a collective memorial service.<\/p>\n

\u200eMeanwhile, Father Zacharia Angotowa, Parish Priest of St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Lutaya, acknowledged the emotional and economic hardships facing many residents of Yei.<\/p>\n

\u200e”Many people are experiencing trauma and uncertainty due to the current economic challenges,” he said. “At such times, faith, unity, and mutual support are essential.”<\/p>\n

\u200eThe burial of Santino Bakata brought together people from different communities, reflecting a shared sense of grief following one of the country’s deadliest recent aviation tragedies.<\/p>\n

\u200eFamilies, religious leaders, and local authorities continue to prepare for a county-wide memorial service to honour all 14 victims of the crash.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By James Innocent \u200eHundreds of mourners, including government officials, religious leaders, relatives, and community members, gathered to pay their final respects to Santino Bakata, one of the victims of the recent Luri plane crash involving a City Link Aviation aircraft en route to Juba. \u200eBakata, a respected family man with[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":45488,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,79,149],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-news","category-yei"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Yei-mourners.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45487","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\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45487"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45489,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45487\/revisions\/45489"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}