South Sudan: Missing priest, Fr Luke and his driver declared dead

Paul Samasumo – Vatican City.

In an audio statement made available to Vatican News, Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala of Tombura Yambio Diocese said it was with a heavy heart that he was announcing the funeral for the priest and driver.

Search for missing priest to continue

“It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we inform you of official Funeral Prayers for our priest and colleague, Rev. Father Luke Yugue, and his driver, Michael Gbeko, who went missing on 27 April 2024, when on their way from Nagero County to Tombura County. The funeral prayers will start on Thursday, 23rd — 25th May 2024, and end with a funeral Holy Mass on Saturday (25 May 2024) at St Mary, Mother of God Catholic Parish,” said the local Ordinary. He urged parishes in the diocese to observe the days of the funeral as announced.

Bishop Kussala continued, “From that darkest Saturday, 27 April, when Fr. Luke Yugue and Michael Gbeko went missing, we have made so many enquiries to find them alive or dead, but sadly to no avail. As we go into this funeral period, our quest for Search, Truth, and Justice will not stop,” he assured.

Call for calm and not revenge

Bishop Kussala was quick to appeal for calm and took time to dissuade any unilateral violent acts of revenge. He told the faithful of the diocese, friends and family that despite their pain and loss, they needed to hold fast to the tenets of the Gospel, their faith and let the law take its course.

Bishop Hiiboro Kussala of Tombura Yambio in South Sudan

“Because of the brutal manner we can imagine, in which Fr. Yugue and his driver Gbeko died, many of us have been calling for revenge. Where does the Church stand in this? The Church gets its answer in the scriptures. In John 18:10-11, we read about Jesus’ reaction when Peter took his sword and struck one of the people who came to arrest Jesus. Peter thought it was right for him to defend his master … As humans, in situations like this, many of us believe that a sense of justice and closure can be achieved by taking the law into our hands. Indeed, the grief, anger, loss or contempt we have for the perpetrator is making us believe that revenge should be the best way forward. But the Church says NO to that,” the Bishop said.

Since Fr. Luke disappeared, social media has been awash with political and ethnic insinuations about the missing pair. The fact that they vanished in an area controlled by the SPLM-IO (Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition) does not help matters. Observers also note that many of South Sudan’s political parties are constituted along these ethnic lines. The SPLM-IO is led by Vice President Riek Machar. 

Military sent to calm the region

Following Bishop Kussala’s request after Fr Luke and his companion disappeared, the Bishop requested South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit to intervene. On 19 May 2024, Bishop Kussala expressed his satisfaction that the President had sent Major General James Akech to help bring peace to Tombura.

“I had appealed to the President to declare a state of emergency in the entire Tombura, and the President sent Major General James Akech. This man is doing a good job. He’s already disarming the people, and the sense of peace is returning to the area now,” Bishop Kussala told local Diocesan Rurugene News.

The abductions of priests in Nigeria

In the meantime, another Nigerian priest was abducted by unknown gunmen, this week. The kidnapping of Father Oliver Buba of Yola Diocese on 21 May follows that of Father Basil Gbuzuo of Onitsha Diocese, who was kidnapped on 15 May last week.

First, it was kidnappings by Boko Haram terrorists and then came what is referred to in Nigeria as bandits. The latter are criminal gangs who kidnap for ransom.

Recently, Nigerian Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Diocese of Sokoto was quoted by the media lamenting the exorbitant costs of rescuing priests, seminarians and other pastoral workers when they are kidnapped. “We have no more money to pay the kidnappers,” the Bishop reportedly said.

Ordinary Nigerians resort to selling land, homes, and other valuables in order to rescue loved ones who have been kidnapped. It is a scourge that refuses to go away despite pronouncements by successive governments.