The Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) is calling for a third Kagiko Faith-Based Leaders Conference, as South Sudan’s prolonged political transition faces deepening trust deficits among its leaders.
CEPO Executive Director Edmund Yakani, in a statement on Saturday, warned that South Sudan’s fragile peace risks collapse unless faith-based leaders urgently step in to mediate and guide the nation through its next 18 months of transition.
“The political elites of the country are in serious deficit in trust and confidence for working together as partners for peace,” Yakani said. “This deficit is holding the country hostage to violence and may soon turn South Sudan into a battleground for regional proxy wars.”
Yakani emphasized that the long-stalled transition process, originally set in motion by the 2018 peace deal and since delayed twice, has left citizens disillusioned and the peace roadmap in jeopardy.
With elections again uncertain, CEPO believes faith-based leaders must assume greater responsibility in guiding the nation toward stability.
CEPO plans to lobby and advocate for the third Kagiko Conference to be held in June, just ahead of South Sudan’s 15th Independence Anniversary on July 9, 2025.
The initiative will be in partnership with the South Sudan Council of Churches and the South Sudan Islamic Council.
“Faith leaders have a spiritual duty to act now. We urge them to renew their commitment to peacebuilding and national reconciliation,” Yakani urged.
He concluded by calling on political leaders to urgently rescue the nation from descending into uncontrollable violence. “Failure to act now will only fuel more instability and deadly conflict.”
The call comes amid growing concerns over the country’s faltering peace process and looming uncertainty surrounding the long-overdue elections.
