The call was made on Tuesday, November 4, during a two-day conference on inclusive peacebuilding through dialogue, hosted by the Bureau of Religious Affairs at the Office of the President in collaboration with peace partners.

The event was attended by traditional leaders, women, youth, Faith Based Organizations, and various stakeholders.

The conference focused on an implementation framework addressing critical issues, including insecurity, hate speech, land disputes, safe Civic Space, trauma and intercommunal relations.

The efforts to harmonize peace policies echo successful past church-led initiatives such as the Kejiko 1 and 2 dialogues and the historic Wunlit West Bank Nilotic Peace Conference.

Participants are now pushing for the implementation of Kejiko 3 as a guide for collective action to address today’s challenges.

Paramount Chief Mary Nyaleng Pur Kuet of Mangateen urged the government to ensure traditional authorities are fully integrated into peace and governance initiatives.

Chief Magol stressed the need for a clear line between military service and civilian leadership.

“As traditional leaders, we — the Dinka, Nuer, and Equatorian chiefs — convened a workshop with local government officials and state governors to discuss the state of governance in our country,” Chief Magol stated.

“The current system is one of military dominance, where generals are appointed to govern civilians, and in turn, they place their relatives or fellow soldiers in civilian roles. We are weary of this cycle. What our nation needs now is peace, followed by genuine elections.”

“Those who govern must be chosen by the people, not appointed by the military. Therefore, we call upon Moses Teller to take decisive action and separate the military from politics, allowing democracy and civilian leadership to prevail.”

Stakeholders involved in the initiative include the South Sudan Council of Churches, the Bureau of Religious Affairs, the Local Government Board, UNMISS, NCA, and various civil society organizations.