{"id":49306,"date":"2026-10-29T12:09:06","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T10:09:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=49306"},"modified":"2026-10-29T12:09:06","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T10:09:06","slug":"bishop-hiiboro-mourns-veteran-gen-joseph-lagu-calls-for-unity-and-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/29\/bishop-hiiboro-mourns-veteran-gen-joseph-lagu-calls-for-unity-and-peace\/","title":{"rendered":"Bishop Hiiboro mourns veteran Gen. Joseph Lagu, calls for unity and peace"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sabri Dibaco <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala of the Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio has mourned the death of veteran General Joseph Lagu Yanga, describing him as one of the leaders whose sacrifices helped shape South Sudan\u2019s struggle for freedom and self-determination.<\/p>\n

In a condolence message, Bishop Hiiboro extended his sympathies to Lagu\u2019s family, relatives, friends and the people of South Sudan, urging citizens to honour the late general\u2019s legacy by promoting unity, justice, reconciliation and lasting peace.<\/p>\n

\u201cGeneral Lagu belonged to a generation that endured great hardships and made great sacrifices for the freedom of our people,\u201d Bishop Hiiboro said.<\/p>\n

Lagu was a prominent military commander and politician who played a central role in the Anyanya liberation movement during Sudan\u2019s first civil war, which lasted from 1955 to 1972.<\/p>\n

He led efforts that culminated in the signing of the Addis Ababa Agreement in 1972, ending the 17-year conflict and granting the Southern Region a degree of autonomy under the Sudanese government.<\/p>\n

Following the agreement, Lagu continued to serve in public office, including as president of the High Executive Council of the Southern Region from 1978 to 1979 and as second vice president of Sudan from 1982 to 1985. He also served in diplomatic roles and remained an influential figure in the political history of Southern Sudan.<\/p>\n

His contribution is remembered as part of the broader struggle that eventually led to South Sudan\u2019s independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011.<\/p>\n

Bishop Hiiboro also highlighted Western Equatoria State\u2019s place in the history of the liberation struggle, recalling the 1955 workers\u2019 protests in Nzara and the Torit mutiny of August 18, 1955, as important milestones in the pursuit of freedom and dignity.<\/p>\n

He said the death of leaders who witnessed and participated in the early struggle should remind South Sudanese of the importance of preserving their shared history and learning from the sacrifices of previous generations.<\/p>\n

The bishop called on citizens, political leaders and communities to put aside divisions and work towards building a peaceful and united country where every person is treated with dignity.<\/p>\n

He emphasised that the legacy of liberation heroes should not be measured only by their military achievements but also by the values of justice, reconciliation and peaceful coexistence they leave for future generations.<\/p>\n

Quoting Matthew 5:9, Bishop Hiiboro reminded the faithful of Jesus Christ\u2019s teaching: \u201cBlessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

He prayed for God to grant General Lagu eternal rest, comfort his bereaved family and guide South Sudan towards unity and lasting peace.<\/p>\n

\u201cMay his soul rest in eternal peace. Amen,\u201d the bishop concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sabri Dibaco Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala of the Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio has mourned the death of veteran General Joseph Lagu Yanga, describing him as one of the leaders whose sacrifices helped shape South Sudan\u2019s struggle for freedom and self-determination. In a condolence message, Bishop Hiiboro extended his sympathies[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":49307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,79,127],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-news","category-religion-2"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Bishop-Hiiboro-mourns-veteran-Gen.-Joseph-Lagu-calls-for-unity-and-peace.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49306","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=49306"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49308,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49306\/revisions\/49308"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}