By Stan Friedman

KAMPALA, UGANDA (July 9, 2014) — Abraham Tuach Kiir, president of the Evangelical Covenant Church of South Sudan, recently was featured prominently in an article by the Sudan Tribune that focused on the possibilities of restructuring the government in South Sudan.

Kiir said the church was backing the introduction of federalism in the country. Under the current system, power is too centralized, opponents have said in what has become a contentious issue in the country. Under the federalist system, local states and counties would have more authority.

Kiir said a federal system was the best hope of ending the bitter fighting along political lines that erupted last December and has devastated the world’s newest country, already one of the poorest.

Kiir had traveled to Juba, the capital city of South Sudan, to talk with leaders of other denominations on how to promote peace and reconciliation in the country. He and others have re-established the denomination’s offices in Gambela, Ethiopia, after they were displaced by the fighting.

While in Juba, Kiir visited church members living in refugee camps and an ECCSS church. He said, “I shed tears when I saw a lot of orphans and unaccompanied minors who remain wandering in those camps.”

With financial assistance from Covenant World Relief, the ECCSS has been working with several other organizations to offer assistance to refugees.