Preserving the Legacy of Wa’ada: Reverend Stephen Mathiang Kuch and the Historic Farewell to Archbishop Nathaniel Garang Anyieth
Bishop Garang Anyieth
By PaanLuel Wël, Juba, South Sudan
The Deer community and the family have declared strongly and unequivocally that the late Archbishop Nathaniel Garang Anyieth is a national figure who deserves to be honored at the national level in Juba. “Badi will be responsible. If Akurdit wishes to come to Juba, there will be no problem. However, if he remains in Bor, then the central committee will facilitate everything as planned,” the Deer community declared.
Sunday, 08 March 2026 (PW) — Reverend Stephen Mathiang Kuch Alier has once again risen to the occasion, taking another historic decision to preserve and immortalize the honour and legacy of Wa’ada Archbishop Nathaniel Garang Anyieth Kuur-Jangdit.
What many people do not know is that what later transpired under Archbishop Akuurdit Ngong Akuurdit nearly transpired during the tenure of Archbishop Nathaniel Garang Anyieth when he served as the Acting Primate of the Sudan and South Sudan following the passing of Primate Joseph Marona. At that time, disagreements emerged within the church that threatened to degenerate into a protracted leadership crisis.
At that critical juncture in the history of the mother church, it was Reverend Stephen Mathiang Kuch Alier, a cousin of Archbishop Nathaniel Garang Anyieth, who courageously stepped forward in public and brotherly urged Archbishop Garang Anyieth not to allow the influence of opportunistic and misguided elements within the church to tarnish the historic reputation and legacy he had built over a lifetime of faithful ministry to his people and unprecedented apostolic service to God.
Thanks to the astute leadership and moral courage of Reverend Stephen Mathiang Kuch Alier, that looming church crisis was resolved amicably, averting a repetition of the unfortunate leadership dispute that unfolded between Archbishop Benjamin Yugusuk and Archbishop Elinana Ngalamu. It appears the mother church, the Episcopal Church, is addicted to leadership crisis from inception.
Today, for the second time in history, Reverend Stephen Mathiang Kuch Alier has risen once more to the occasion, ensuring that the late Archbishop Nathaniel Garang Anyieth receives the dignified burial and national mourning befitting a historic figure, one whose legacy stands in the same league of reverence as that of Dr. John Garang and Hon. Abel Alier Kwai.
Therefore, we expect everyone, from ordinary citizens to national ministers to President Kiir, to gather at the ECS All Saints Cathedral in Juba, the same sacred place where Dr. John Garang was given his historic farewell by the entire nation.
Indeed, if it were up to this writer, the body of Wa’ada Archbishop Garang Anyieth should have been flown across the country and the regions where he ministered and served during his lifelong ministry, with memorial services held in major centres such as Kakuma, Kampala, Nimule, Rumbek, Aweil, Yirol, Renk, Panyagor, Duk, Yambio, Kapoeta, and Torit before finally being taken to Juba and Bor.
Archbishop Nathaniel Garang Anyieth, a veteran of Anyanya One War alongside John Garang and Salva Kiir, was a national religious leader whose ministry reached every corner of the country and extended far beyond its borders, including the instrumental role he played in the SPLM/SPLA’s war of liberation.
For that reason, Wa’ada Archbishop Nathaniel Garang Anyieth deserves to be honoured and celebrated nationwide, nothing less than the national honor accorded to Dr John Garang.
Rest in peace, Wa’ada Archbishop Garang Anyieth Kuur-Jangdit.
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