As South Sudan prepares to receive Pope Francis, Central Equatoria State Governor Emmanuel Adil Anthony has called on citizens especially, Juba City dwellers, to turn up in big numbers to welcome the Vicar of Christ and his accompanying delegation.
The Pope will is set to travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) capital Kinshasa on 31 January before proceeding to South Sudan on 3 February where he will be joined by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Portal Welby, and Rt Rev Dr. Iain Greenshields, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
Addressing reporters on Wednesday at the state secretariat in Juba, Governor Adil, who is also the head of services for the reception of Pope Francis, assured the citizens of security during the papal visit.
“I am honored to inform you that the state government in coordination with the high-level committee led by the minister of presidential affairs, Dr. Barnaba Benjamin, and the committee led by His Grace the Archbishop of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Juba, Dr. Stephen Ameyu, are winding up with the preparations. We encourage all the citizens and the people of Juba and the people of central Equatoria to come out to the streets of the city on the 3 February at 1 pm to receive these religious prelates with joy and happiness,” Adil urged. “The state government assures the general public that necessary security measures have been put in place and urges everyone to cooperate accordingly with all the security organs.”
“I applaud and encourage those who are involved in the preparations to continue with extra strength to complete the pending tasks for this noble visit” he added.
Governor Adil said the coming of the Pope is a renewal of faith in the communities and that the South Sudanese public would like to see him and hear what he says.
“The coming of the Pope is a hope for hearing something different from war and he is coming with a message of peace as he started when he received the leadership of South Sudan at the Vatican,” he said.
Cattle movement banned
Meanwhile, the government of Central Equatoria State on Wednesday issued an order banning the movement of cattle in Juba City during the visit of Pope Francis and his accompanying delegation from 3 to 5 February.
Moro Isaac Genesio, the state’s Minister of Local Government and Law Enforcement said the movement of animals during the papal visit is banned and law enforcement agencies are directed to strictly implement the order.
“Security is assured, more efforts are being put in ensuring that emerging issues are taken care of and all the security apparatus are already informed and are doing their work,” he said. “We want to maintain that the movement of cattle escorted by armed cattle keepers along the roads which has been causing problems has been directed to stop. All the security apparatus are empowered to make sure that all these menaces that have been caused by cattle are contained.”