By Andrea Arop Malek
The Awiel community, together with families and friends of three recently released members, has held a thanksgiving ceremony to express gratitude to President Salva Kiir Mayardit for ordering their release from detention while calling for the release of other community members who remain detained.
The ceremony brought together chiefs, elders, youth, women’s representatives, family members, friends, and prominent politicians from Awiel and beyond to celebrate the release of Hon. Kom Kom Geng and Hon. Ayii Ayii Akol Agany, both former members of Parliament, and Hon. Achan Agoth Akiec, an adviser to the First Lady.
Speakers at the gathering praised the President’s decision, describing it as an opportunity to promote forgiveness, reconciliation, and unity. They also appealed for continued efforts to secure the release of other detained members of the community.
Community leaders expressed appreciation to President Kiir for responding to their appeals and allowing the three individuals to reunite with their families and community.
One of the chiefs described the President as a father to the nation, saying his decision to release the detainees demonstrated a commitment to forgiveness and peace.
“Our President is a father of the nation. He has shown his love for his people by pardoning our sons and daughters. We thank him sincerely,” the chief said.
Families of the released individuals also thanked the President and the Awiel community leadership for standing with them throughout the period of detention.
Hon. Achan Agoth Akiec, adviser to the First Lady and one of the released individuals, emphasized the importance of peace and unity, saying lasting development depends on stability and reconciliation.
In her remarks, she thanked President Kiir for granting her freedom alongside Kom Kom Geng and Ayii Ayii Akol Agany.
“Peace is more important than anything, and without peace there is no development,” she said.
Akiec also appealed to the President to extend the same gesture of forgiveness to other members of the Awiel community who remain in detention, including Dr. Benjamin Bol Mel, whom she identified as among those whose release she hopes to see.
“I am happy to be free today, but my happiness will be complete when my brothers also return home. I ask our father, H.E. President Salva Kiir Mayardit, to forgive and release our remaining sons of Awiel, including Dr. Benjamin Bol Mel. Let us unite as one family,” Akiec said.
Her appeal emerged as one of the central messages of the ceremony, highlighting the community’s hope that the release of the three individuals could be followed by further steps toward reconciliation.
Hon. Ayii Ayii Akol Agany, a former member of Parliament, used his remarks to encourage forgiveness and reconciliation, drawing a comparison with the biblical account of Jesus Christ’s betrayal by Judas Iscariot.
He expressed gratitude to President Kiir for his release, describing the decision as an opportunity to rebuild relationships and continue serving the community and country.
“I thank our father, H.E. President Salva Kiir Mayardit. He has shown that he is a true father and a forgiving leader. He has given us a second chance to serve our people and our country,” Akol said.
He urged community members to forgive one another, put aside their differences, and work together for peace and development.
Hon. Kom Kom Geng, another former member of Parliament who was released from detention, also expressed gratitude to the President for his release and called on the Awiel community to strengthen unity.
“I want to thank our father, H.E. President Salva Kiir Mayardit, from the bottom of my heart for his forgiveness and for giving us freedom. He is a father of peace and a leader who loves all his people equally,” Geng said.
He particularly urged young people and women to play an active role in promoting unity within the community and supporting peaceful coexistence.
“My message to my people of Awiel, especially our youth and women, is to unite. Let us unite for peace and development of our community and our country, South Sudan. Divided we fall, united we stand,” he said.
Dr. Dhieu Mathok also praised President Kiir’s decision to release the three community members, describing it as a gesture of forgiveness and reconciliation.
He said the decision had strengthened the community’s appreciation for peaceful dialogue and called for unity as South Sudan prepares for the planned December 2026 elections.
Mathok further expressed support for President Kiir’s leadership and said members of the Awiel community who share his position would campaign for him in the upcoming elections.
The ceremony concluded with renewed appeals for unity, forgiveness, and peaceful coexistence, as community members celebrated the return of the three individuals while expressing hope that others who remain detained would also be reunited with their families.
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