Azande King initiates global registration of subjects

King Atoroba Rikito Gbudue of the Azande has initiated a worldwide registration campaign for the Azande people both in the country and abroad. The exercise is supposed to make all the people, whether inside or outside the country, more visible.

King Rikito, who succeeded King Gbudue, in February 2022, initiated the registration process in Yambio, Western Equatoria State.

Badagbu Daniel Rimbasa, one of Monarch Gbudue’s grandchildren and a member of the royal family, who also serves as the kingdom’s spokesperson, revealed to The City Review that the king started registering to figure out how many individuals the kingdom has around the world.

Although the registration process started in Yambio, he expects it to extend across the country and to the diaspora.

Mr Rimbasa explained, “The King initiated the registration to know the number of his people so that he might be used for development and resource mobilization.”

The registration of Azande people, according to a spokeswoman for the royal family, will take years, as it is a continual procedure at that will take time.

The royal family’s spokeswoman added that the launch drew thousands of Azande people to Yambio and that people were grateful for the King’s initiative to learn about the number of Azande people around the world.

The people are quite pleased with the king’s creation. “The majority of them feel it’s critical to know the number of people in the Azande Kingdom, which will include the number of youth, the old, and other age categories,” she added.

According to him, registration is voluntary, and people are expected to register at all levels of government, including the chief and community.

He added that registration is critical in planning the kingdom’s development. The leaders will push for people to support the kingdom based on the number of individuals they know.

After 117 years since the death of King Gbudue in 1905, Atoroba, who is Gbudue’s grandson, was crowned the new Azande King in February 2022.

Atoroba Peni Rikito Gbudue, the Azande King, has been in the seat for five months, albeit without a full crown.