Juba’s Nyakuron Cultural Centre and a packed youth crowd
Backstage at the Nyakuron Cultural Centre on a recent Thursday, hip-hop artist Wigo Young Soon waited for his slot as heavy rain hit the roof. He repeated a quiet mantra—“I believe in myself”—before debuting his track “Juba to London” (The Christian Science Monitor).
Inside, young South Sudanese spectators ate popcorn, chatted, flirted and filmed the acts on their phones. For many in the hall, the show offered a short, vivid break from a tense national mood and daily pressures (The Christian Science Monitor).
South Sudan conflict context: independence, war and uneasy politics
Independent since 2011, South Sudan has faced repeated cycles of violence. A civil war linked to ethnic tensions ran from 2013 to 2018, and recent months have seen clashes between President Salva Kiir and his deputy, raising fears of renewed conflict (The Christian Science Monitor).
Analyst Daniel Akech of the International Crisis Group said that after the “external enemy” of Sudan was gone, political rivals “turned on each other,” referring to the split that followed independence (The Christian Science Monitor).
The 2013 rupture came after President Kiir, a Dinka, dismissed his deputy Riek Machar, a Nuer, which helped trigger war. The 2018 power-sharing arrangement was described as fragile, after a conflict that reportedly caused about 400,000 deaths (The Christian Science Monitor).
Wigo Young Soon linked national turmoil to personal loss. He said his grandmother was killed by a stray bullet when he was 7, adding that violence had become so normalised that, despite distress, “I couldn’t even cry” (The Christian Science Monitor).
Open-mic nights in Juba: leaving tribe at the door
The weekly Kilkilu Ana Entertainment Show has been hosted since 2014 by producer and musician Isaac Anthony Lumori, known as MC Lumoex. “When we are inside this hall, we are all the 64 tribes,” he said, describing the venue as deliberately inclusive (The Christian Science Monitor).
MC Lumoex said the initiative was shaped by wartime realities. “We thought: How can we bring back smiles?” he recalled. “The war compelled us to open,” he said, framing the stage as a community response rather than a commercial trend (The Christian Science Monitor).
Regulars said Nyakuron has become a key platform for young artists in Juba, including early comedians and dozens of musicians. With a studio and other facilities on site, many participants described it as an organised cultural hub, not just a night out (The Christian Science Monitor).
Several young people argued that ethnicity is not the sole driver of conflict. Young Soon put it bluntly: “South Sudan is a good country, but leaders want to spoil it.” Akech similarly argued politicians “are exploiting” ethnic structures for interests (The Christian Science Monitor).
Nasir clashes, displacement and the economic squeeze
The report describes a March flare-up after a Nuer youth militia overran a government military base in Nasir, in the northeast, prompting a major security response. Machar was accused of links, placed under house arrest, and charged with treason (Reuters, via The Christian Science Monitor).
After that escalation, the article cites sporadic clashes that killed 2,000 civilians and displaced more than 300,000 people. In October, Barney Afako of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan warned the U.N. General Assembly of indicators pointing to “another deadly war” (The Christian Science Monitor).
For some attendees, Nyakuron functions as a refuge with an unwritten rule. Journalism student Sandra Abalo said, “Here, we don’t talk politics,” as she danced near the stage during Young Soon’s set (The Christian Science Monitor).
Abalo still pointed to the cost-of-living crisis. Citing the African Development Bank, the article says 92% of South Sudan’s population lives below the poverty line, up 12% from the previous year, and that aid cuts—about 25% of GDP—worsened conditions (The Christian Science Monitor).
She said her father, who worked at the World Food Programme, lost his job following those cuts. Asked about the U.S. president, she joked: “My message to Donald Trump? … Forgive South Sudan,” signalling both frustration and resilience (The Christian Science Monitor).
“64 in 1” project: a studio approach to cultural unity
Producer Linus Junior Ochwo, known as Linus de Genius, is described as a regular Nyakuron performer who has worked with many artists linked to the centre. Originally from Uganda, he is now developing a project aimed at countering division through music (The Christian Science Monitor).
His concept, “64 in 1,” proposes one original song for each of South Sudan’s tribes. “Music has a greater power than anything … it’s a simple way to gather people,” he said, adding: “I want to contribute towards peace … in a different way” (The Christian Science Monitor).
Ochwo said he collaborates with local musicians by learning languages and sampling traditional instruments, then merging them with contemporary beats. He has released at least two dozen tracks so far, according to the report (The Christian Science Monitor).
He framed the work as a statement about national value: “There is that richness in culture that I wanted to bring out,” he said, “so that people understand that South Sudan has wealth” (The Christian Science Monitor).
The process, he added, also exposed limited knowledge between communities. Yet many songs focus on love and beauty, which he described as “one umbrella” across tribes—music that can move quickly through radio and daily listening habits (The Christian Science Monitor).
A night of dance as a quiet civic gesture
On the night of Young Soon’s performance, the crowd stood beneath bright lights as bass lines filled the hall. For a brief period, the article suggests, anxiety and social labels felt less present than the shared rhythm in the room (The Christian Science Monitor).
In a country where political competition and economic hardship shape ordinary life, Nyakuron’s weekly gathering illustrates a softer form of civic space. The young audience, at least for one evening, appeared focused on a simple goal: to dance (The Christian Science Monitor).