The seventh anniversary of the Independence Day celebration in Juba on Monday witnessed low turn up of South Sudanese at Dr John Garang Mausoleum in Juba.
Many of the people seen around the Mausoleum were young children.
Former Police Inspector General, Pieng Deng Kuol, who expected everybody to celebrate the day says it is a collective responsibility to rejoice, but not necessarily the government organizing the event alone.
He urges South Sudanese to remember those who died during the liberation struggle to independence.
Nyok Ater Kou Nhial says many people did not turn up because of other circumstances.
Ater hopes other celebrations will not be the same in the coming years.
‘People are few and the government is occupied with so many things. There is a lot of problem that the government is solving for the sake of bringing peace in South Sudan. Even if most of us didn’t turn up, we hope that next year will be a good year, whereby, we will celebrate and enjoy our Independence. Even if people didn’t turn up due to other constrains of other circumstances, others are celebrating in their houses’, he explains.
A citizen, who only identifies himself only as Deng, expresses his happiness because of the day.
He hopes for peace to return to South Sudan.
‘I am very happy for this day. Let there be peace in South Sudan so that we stay in our country and God will help us. I thank God and South Sudanese. Let the country have future. We need peace not war again.