Saturnino Ohure Hilangi, or Saturnino Lohure (c. 1921 – 22 January 1967) was a Roman Catholic priest and a politician who played an important role in the early movement for secession of

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

. Saturnino Ohure was of Lotuho origin. He was born around 1921 and baptized at Torit, now in Eastern Equatoria state, in 1931. He studied at the Okaru and Gulu seminaries, and on 21 December 1946 was ordained a priest at Gulu. He and a companion were the first Lotukos to be ordained to the priesthood. In 1957 Father Saturnino and Ezboni Mondiri Gwanza, founded the Southern Sudan Federal Party (SSFP), which beat the Liberals and won forty seats in the 1958 parliamentary elections, the first after independence in 1956. Saturnino ran successfully for the Torit constituency, and became a leader of the southerners in the Constituent Assembly. When the SSFP spoke up in parliament for the north to consider Sudanese federation, as promised, the government arrested Mondiri and the SSFP broke up. In its place, Father Saturnino formed the Southern Block, with 25 members. The military government dissolved the assembly in November 1958. In 1961, Saturnino fled to

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

to avoid arrest. Saturnino Ohure and Joseph Oduho moved from Uganda to

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

, where they were joined by

William Deng William Deng Nhial (1929 - 5 May 1968) was the political leader of the Sudan African National Union, SANU, from 1962 to 1968. He was elected unopposed. He was one of founders of the Anya Nya Military Wing of the Liberation of Southern Sudan, fighti ...

and founded the

Sudan African Closed Districts National Union The Sudan African National Union (Juba Arabic: اتحاد الوطنى الافريقى السودان ''Ettihad Al-Wataniy Al-Afriqiy Al-Sudan''; SANU) is a political party formed in 1963 by Saturnino Ohure and William Deng Nhial in Uganda. In th ...

(SACDNU) in 1962. Saturnino was killed by a Ugandan soldier near

Kitgum Kitgum is a municipality in Kitgum District in the Northern Region of Uganda. The town is administered by Kitgum Municipality Council, an urban local government. It is the largest metropolitan area in the district and the site of the district ...

on 22 January 1967. In January 2009 his body was exhumed from its grave in Kitgum and transported to Torit for reburial.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohure, Saturnino 1938 births 1967 deaths South Sudanese Roman Catholics Southern Sudan Federal Party politicians People from Eastern Equatoria