Priest, driver missing since April 27 in South Sudan declared dead

Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Tombura Yambio, South Sudan, Most Rev. Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala has announced three days of mourning from May 23 – 25 ending with a funeral Mass on May 25 at St. Mary Mother of God Church Yambio.

The announcement comes after what many have described as the shocking disappearance of Fr. Luke Yugue and his driver Mr. Michael Gbeko. The two are said to have gone missing since April 27.

According to reports, the duo disappeared while traveling from Nagero County to Tombura County, prompting an extensive search effort that yielded no results.

Since their disappearance on April 27, Bishop Kussala recounted the exhaustive efforts made to locate Fr. Luke Yugue and Michael Gbeko, expressing profound sorrow at the inability to find them alive. “Our quest for Search, Truth, and Justice will not stop,” he told Vatican News.

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Despite the anguish and loss experienced by the community, Bishop Kussala urged for calm and cautioned against any inclination towards unilateral acts of revenge. Quoting scripture and invoking the teachings of Jesus, he reminded the faithful to uphold the principles of forgiveness and justice, urging restraint in the pursuit of retribution.

“Because of the brutal manner we can imagine, in which Fr. Yugue and his driver Gbeko died, many of us have been calling for revenge. Where does the Church stand in this? The Church gets its answer in the scriptures. In John 18:10-11, we read about Jesus’ reaction when Peter took his sword and struck one of the people who came to arrest Jesus. Peter thought it was right for him to defend his master … As humans, in situations like this, many of us believe that a sense of justice and closure can be achieved by taking the law into our hands. Indeed, the grief, anger, loss or contempt we have for the perpetrator is making us believe that revenge should be the best way forward. But the Church says NO to that,” Bishop Kussala is reported to have said.