Juba – The “painful and unresolved disappearance of Father Luke Yugue and his driver, Michael Gbeko, on April 27, 2024, is a wound that refuses to heal.” This is how Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala, Bishop of Tombura-Yambio in South Sudan, recalls the mysterious disappearance of the young priest and his driver after they left Nagero County on a motorcycle bound for Tombura, in Western Equatoria State.
Although a funeral prayer was held a month after their disappearance , the mystery surrounding their whereabouts has never been solved.
In his message released in recent days, Bishop Kussala expressed his desire “to see, to hear, to perceive, to have some certainty about the truth regarding our missing brothers and sisters, our missing children.” “Time has passed, but not the questions. Not the pain. Not the longing,” he affirmed. “We remember them not only with sorrow, but with faith, courage, and an unwavering commitment to truth and justice,” the bishop continued. Father Luke, he added, “was a servant of the Gospel, a pastor dedicated to the mission of peace, reconciliation, and hope in Christ. Michael Gbeko, his fellow servant, walked faithfully by his side.” Both, he emphasized, “did not belong only to their families or to the Church. They belonged to all of us. Their disappearance is not a private loss. It is a national wound. It is a moral trial for our society.”
In a previous message, released on the anniversary of their disappearance, the bishop had stated: “We continue to search for them; we continue to seek the truth; we continue to demand justice.” A threefold purpose that, Bishop Kussala points out, “I repeat today with even greater urgency.”
The Bishop of Tombura-Yambio addresses an appeal to the government, which he calls “with pastoral responsibility and moral clarity,” urging it to “act in accordance with its mandate” and “do justice and restore peace.” “Exercise leadership worthy of the dignity of your people. Authority is not just power; it is responsibility before God and before history,” Bishop Kussala reminds them.
The disappearance of the priest and his driver is not an isolated case. “Throughout our nation, many people have disappeared. Many families continue to mourn in silence,” warns the bishop, who calls for “building a culture in which life is protected, in which no one disappears without someone being held accountable, in which justice is not selective, and in which peace is rooted in truth.”
The message concludes by offering comfort to the families of the missing men and announcing that, from now on, Masses celebrated in the diocese on the anniversary of their disappearance will include “special prayer intentions for Father Luke Yugue and Michael Gbeko.”
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