Faithful holds posters with photos of the missing priest during a prayers on 5th May 2024 in Yambio town, Western Equatoria State. (Photo/Joseph Ernesto/Anisa FM).

The Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Tambura-Yambio has renewed calls on security agencies and the state population to disclose the whereabouts and fate of his priest who went missing more than 3 weeks ago.

Father Luka Yugue and his motorbike rider Michael Gbeko disappeared on 27th April 2024 along the Nagero-Tambura Road.

The two reportedly left Nagero for Tambura County and the cleric said the missing men might have been abducted along the way before reaching their destination.

In his homily at St. Mary Help of Christians in Tambura on Sunday, Barani Eduardo Hiiboro said he wants to know the whereabout of the missing priest.

“Give me information about my priest. I need my priest, give him back to me, please,” pleaded.

“You can send it to my phone number, I don’t need your name, I just need the information about where he is. Where is Father Luke? and Michael Gbeko my youth, my choir member, where is he?”

“I said this it is not only father Luke but all of us. There are mothers here who have lost their children, there are fathers here who have lost their sons and daughters.”

“There are brothers and sisters here who have lost members of their family all over of us together at crying we need them back.”

On the 5th of this month, hundreds of faithful gathered in Yambio for a five-day prayer of hope and solidarity for the safe rescue of father Yugue and his driver.

The believers then matched on the streets with pictures of the missing priest to attention to his plight as his fate is still not known.

Addressing a congregation, Bishop Barani called on the people of Tambura to embrace peace and forgive each other.

“May the noise of your unity, may the noise of your resilience and your hard work be heard all over South Sudan that there is something sounding new in Tambura.”

“Not the sound of gun but the sound of reconciliation, the sound of peace, the sound of harmony, the sound of forgiveness, the people of Tambura have turn around the story.”

“They have turned around the situation that was already hopeless and people can now be able to rush to Tambura. All those who ran away will come back to Tambura because there is a new noise. All the people who were working in Tambura will come back because the noise of peace and love and harmony.”