South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir on Wednesday joined thousands of people who took to the streets to pay their last respects to the war veteran, Kawac Makuei Mayar, founding member of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).
Kawac died this month in Juba after returning from a foreign trip for treatment in Cairo, Egypt, but burial arrangements were not complete, resulting in the delay since some of the immediate family members were outside the country.
The body was on Wednesday flown to his native village of Machar Adut in Aweil North area, part of the newly created Lol state after the split of Northern Bahr al Ghazal through a presidential order in October 2015.
Kiir described Kawac as a true nationalist and one of those who fought for liberation and self-determination for South Sudan to become an independent country.
The President called for peace and unity among South Sudanese as the only way to honour those who played critical roles during the liberation struggle.