The King of Azande Kingdom, His Majesty Atoroba Peni Rikito, appealed to the leaders to allocate a day for cultural festivals to bring different tribes together.
Addressing the press on Saturday at his palace in Yambio, Western Equatoria State, Atoroba applauded the national and state governments for contributing to the restoration of the Azande Kingdom after 117 years of dormancy.
However, he said that creating a national cultural day would promote diversity among the existing 64 tribes in the country and restore the national heritage.
“A country without its own culture is not a country and identifying and allocating a day where South Sudanese will come together as one people from different ethnic tribes show their own culture will identify South Sudan as a country and contribute to the coexistence of South Sudanese,” Atoroba stated.
He urged the South Sudanese to embrace positive cultures that can attract donors to come and invest in South Sudan, not a culture of revenge and laziness.
“Azande Kingdom is for peace, unity, good cultural practices and peaceful coexistence of every tribe that is living in our Kingdom. We are still struggling to build the Azande Kingdom to meet the standards of other kingdoms in Africa and the world,” he said.
The Azande is expecting to celebrate its 2nd anniversary of the establishment of the Kingdom at the Royal Palace in Bazungua Payam on February 9, 2024, under the theme of peace, love, and unity.
“I am calling on all South Sudanese to come and attend the Second Anniversary Celebration of the Azande Kingdom,” said King Atoroba.
“On behalf of the Azande Kingdom and my behalf, I am inviting all our South Sudanese, our friends, family, partners, and government to come and join us for the upcoming anniversary celebration of the Azande Kingdom.”
The King said the Kingdom remained inactive since the killing of King Gbudue by the British colonists and was restored by President Salva Kiir on February 9, 2022.