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ARUA - It was a day filled with beautiful cultural dances, dressing codes as well as cuisines as South Sudanese living in Arua City and beyond sought to redeem peaceful co-existence through cultural festivals.

Under the theme: Peace, Love and Unity, the second edition of the annual cultural event codenamed: Junubin Festival held at Heritage Courts in Arua City on Saturday, January 6, 2024, brought together 10 different cultural communities among the 64 tribes that form 27 cultural communities in South Sudan altogether.

Among the cultural communities that participated in the Junubin festival include Dinka, Nuer, Meridi, greater Mundri, Nuba, Suluk, Azande, Acholi, and Murle among others who showcased their cultural identities to the hundreds of mesmerised revelers.

Among the cultural activities that crowned the Junubin Cultural Festival include traditional dances, showcasing of traditional dress codes, and traditional food exhibitions.

Joice Enosa Mbaraza, a female artiste from South Sudan commonly known by the state name C.J., the founder of the initiative, said being a peacemaker, she could not manage to see her people divided along tribal lines which motivated her to start the initiative in 2021.

“When I reached Uganda, I realised that my people in South Sudan were severely divided and I thought to myself what can I do to unite them and I thought of culture because the people in the country love their culture and being a peacemaker and having grown in a church, I came up with the idea of cultural festival and the first edition took place in September 2022 but due to resource constraints, we could not have the one of last year until this time,” Enosa said.

Norah Zangabeyo, a board member of public procurement and disposal of Assets in South Sudan general assembly remarks. (All Photos by Robert Adiga)

Aida Elikana Gemenze, a young participant from the Azande community, said such peace and unity festivals can take them far.

“This is my first time to participate in the festival and I'm amazed by the level of unity here. It shows that we can still live in peace despite our different tribes and this is a unique opportunity for us as young people to send a strong message to our leaders back home," Gemenze said.

Meanwhile, Joseph Baraka James, another participant, described the festival as a great opportunity to share their culture and tradition for a just cause urging the leaders back home to learn from their example.

Norah Zangabeyo, a board member of public procurement and disposal of Assets in the South Sudan general assembly, pledged to take the peace message sent by the youth through the cultural festival in Uganda to the leaders of South Sudan.

She described the festival as a historical event that will be used to cement the relationship among the warring tribes in South Sudan.

“We look at these youth as the future leaders and they're being united in peace and love is a sign of peace and we are going to inform the government of South Sudan that, the youth in Uganda and particularly Arua, are teaching us to remain united amidst our different cultural backgrounds “, Zangabeyo said.

While presiding over the festival as the chief guest, Godfrey Tako, the community services officer in the office of the prime minister, commended the South Sudanese for the peace initiative through cultural songs as he urged the government and partners to support such initiatives.

He said similar cultural events have been organized in the various settlements in the region with the support of Lugbara Kari and development partners helping to cement the tattered relationships among the warring tribes from South Sudan.