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Tribute to Rev Can Clement Guya Janda of South Sudan
Harold Acemah
On March 8, death robbed Africa and the world of a distinguished son, the Rev Can Clement Guya Janda, who passed on in Arua City. A funeral service was held for him at Emmanuel Cathedral, Arua, on March 18 and he was buried at his ancestral home in Yei, South Sudan, on March 20.
I would like to convey heartfelt condolences to Ms Joyce Janda, a Ugandan from Koboko District, and the bereaved family. May God comfort them during this difficult time and transform their sorrow into joy of Easter. Jesus Christ is risen today, alleluia!
I first met Clement in Geneva, Switzerland, when he was working at the World Council of Churches. I had gone to attend a UN conference. We struck friendship from day one and as a son of an Anglican priest, it was natural for me to relate to Clement.
Unlike my beloved father, a traditional Anglican priest who did not participate actively in politics, Clement practiced liberation theology which was popular, especially in Latin America, during the 1970s and 1980s.
Clement Janda was born of Bakurju Ombasi clan, South Sudan, on November 3, 1941, and was due to celebrate his 80th birthday. His academic career started at Yei Boys Elementary School. A civil war which erupted in Sudan in 1955 forced him to flee and seek refuge in Uganda in 1960.
While in Uganda, he studied at Bishop Tucker Theological College, Mukono, and obtained a diploma in Divinity. He was ordained a deacon and posted to Kakira as a parish priest.
Clement was admitted to Makerere University and obtained a BA in Divinity in 1973, after which he got a scholarship to study for a Master of Arts degree in Divinity at Austin Theological Seminary in Texas, USA. In 1976 to 1977, he participated in the establishment of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, serving as its first provincial secretary.
From 1977 to 1981, Janda was appointed assistant general secretary of the All African Council of Churches based in Nairobi, Kenya. He returned to Sudan thereafter and for seven years from 1981 to 1988, he was secretary general of the Sudan Council of Churches, based in Khartoum.
In 1988 to 1992, Janda was executive secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Geneva where, by the grace of God, our paths crossed. After a successful tour of duty at WCC, Clement moved to Zambia as executive director of Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation, Kitwe from 1993 to 1997.
He went back to Nairobi and participated actively for six years in the Naivasha peace process at which agreement was reached for a referendum which led to the independence of South Sudan in 2011.
During the six-year interim period, Clement was one of the MPs from South Sudan in the national parliament of the Sudan in Khartoum. After South Sudan achieved independence, he was elected a senator and deputy chairperson of the Council of State. When conflict erupted in Juba between two factions of SPLA, Clement was forced into exile again in 2016. He relocated to Arua where he lived peacefully until his untimely demise. The last time we met at Arua in 2020, Clement was disgusted, disappointed and frustrated by what is happening in his country. South Sudan deserves a lot better!
Janda has left a powerful legacy as a priest, peacemaker, intellectual, patriot, nationalist, pan-Africanist and global citizen. He was a jolly good fellow, generous, hardworking and a gentleman.
Mr Acemah is a political scientist and retired career diplomat.
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