Africa’s youngest nation is marking 10 years of independence but President Salva Kiir has cancelled the celebration of the South Sudan’s 10th independence anniversary on Friday citing concerns over covid19.
In a sitting chaired by President Salva Kiir in Juba on Wednesday, the cabinet advised its citizens to observe the day in their homes as part of measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
The council postponed the arranged swearing in of the new transitional legislature from Friday to a date yet to be announced. It added that there will be no official celebration of its independence anniversary in order to curtail the spread of the pandemic.
Deputy National Information Minister Baba Medan explained that President Kiir will make a televised address on Friday.
Juba had cancelled celebrations in 2016 and 2017 citing financial constraints. Sudan’s civil war dates back to the mid-1950s, when southern insurgents took up arms against the Sudanese government, seeking greater autonomy from Khartoum. It finally attained self-autonomy in 2005 and independence in 2011.
