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Equatoria is the southernmost region of South Sudan, along the upper reaches of the White Nile and the border between South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Juba, the national capital and the largest city in South Sudan, is located in Equatoria. Originally a province of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, it also contained most of northern parts of present-day Uganda, including Lake Albert and West Nile. It was an idealistic effort to create a model state in the interior of Africa that never consisted of more than a handful of adventurers and soldiers in isolated outposts. (2025). 9780060956394, Harper Perennial. ISBN 9780060956394
Equatoria was established by Samuel Baker in 1870. Charles George Gordon took over as governor in 1874, followed by Emin Pasha in 1878. The Mahdist Revolt put an end to Equatoria as an Egyptian outpost in 1889. Later British Governors included Martin Willoughby Parr. Important towns in Equatoria included Lado, Gondokoro, Dufile and Wadelai. The last two former areas of Equatoria, Lake Albert and West Nile are now situated in Uganda.
Under Anglo-Egyptian rule, most of Equatoria became one of the eight original provinces of Sudan. The region of Bahr el Ghazal was split from Equatoria in 1948. In 1976, Equatoria was further split into the provinces of East Equatoria and West Equatoria. The region has been troubled with violence during both the First and Second Sudanese Civil Wars, as well as the anti-Ugandan insurgencies based in Sudan such as the Lord's Resistance Army and West Nile Bank Front.
Between October 2015 and February 2020, Equatoria consisted of the following states:
Most Equatorians kept the core of their culture even while in exile and diaspora. Traditionally, culture is highly upheld and a great focus is given to knowing one's origin and dialect. Although the common languages spoken in Equatoria are Juba Arabic/Arabi Juba and English language, Lingala language and Kiswahili are being introduced to the population to improve the country's relations with its neighbors. Many musicians from Equatoria use English, Lingala, Kiswahili, Arabi Juba (Arabic Creole), their language or dialect or a mix of all. Popular artists sing Afro-beat, R&B, and zouk. Dynamiq is popular for his reggae.
Baker's attempt to create additional trading posts and control Equatoria was unsuccessful because villages surrounding Gondokoro were frequently bypassed by Arab people invaders who wanted to impose their culture and way of life on the people. King Gbudwe who ruled the western part of Equatoria at the time as The King of Azande Kingdom despised the Arab culture and way of life and encouraged the tribes to resist the invaders and protect their African culture and their way of life. The invaders were met with stiff resistance from Equatorian tribes such as the Azande, Bari, Lokoya people, Lotuko people, and Pari people.
At the end of Baker's service as governor, British general Charles George Gordon was appointed governor of Sudan. Gordon took over in 1874 and administered the region until 1876. He was more successful in creating additional trading posts in the area. In 1876, Gordon's views clashed with those of the Egyptian governor of Khartoum forcing him to go back to London.
In 1878 Gordon was succeeded by the Chief Medical Officer of the Equatoria province, Mehemet Emin, popularly known as Emin Pasha. Emin made his headquarters at Lado (now in South Sudan). Emin Pasha had little influence over the area because the Khartoum governor was uninterested in his development proposals for the Equatoria region.
In 1881, Muhammad Ahmad Abdullah, a Muslim religious leader, proclaimed himself the Mahdi ("expected one") and began a Mahdist Revolt to unify the tribes of Western and Central Sudan, including Equatoria. By 1883 the Mahdists had cut off outside communications. However, Emin Pasha managed to request assistance from Britain via Buganda. The British sent the explorer Henry Morton Stanley and who led a relief expedition, called the "Advance," in February 1887 to rescue Emin. The Advance navigated up the Congo River and then through the Ituri Forest, one of the most difficult forest routes in Africa, resulting in the loss of two-thirds of the expedition's personnel. While the Advance succeeded in reaching Emin Pasha by February of the following year, the Mahdists had already overrun the bulk of the province, and Emin had already been deposed as governor by his officers in August 1887. The Advance reached the coast, with Emin, by the end of the year, by which point the Mahdists were firmly in control of Equatoria.
In 1898, the Mahdist State was overthrown by the Anglo-Egyptian force led by British Field Marshal Lord Kitchener. Sudan was proclaimed a condominium under British-Egyptian administration with Equatoria being administered by the British.
On August 18, 1955, No. 2 Company of the Equatoria Corps Torit mutiny at Torit, Eastern Equatoria.; Robert O. Collins, Civil wars and revolution in the Sudan: essays on the Sudan, 2005, p.140 No. 2 Company had been ordered to make ready to move to the north, but instead of obeying, the troops mutinied, along with other Southern soldiers across the south in Juba, Yei, Yambio, and Maridi. The Khartoum government sent other Sudan Defence Force units to quell the rebellion and many mutineers of the Equatoria Corps went into hiding rather than surrender. This marked the beginning of the first civil war in southern Sudan. The rebellion that emerged from the Equatoria Corps was later called Anya Nya and the leaders were separatists, who demanded the creation of a separate South Sudanese nation, free from Arab domination. The Equatorian leaders of the Anyanya and founders of the struggle included Saturnino Ohure, Aggrey Jaden, Ezboni Mondiri, and Benjamin Lwoki.
The Khartoum government sent its forces to arrest the rebels and capture anyone who supported their cause. By the early 1960s civilians believed to be Anya Nya sympathizers were arrested and shipped to Kodok concentration camp where they were tortured and killed. Some of the first detainees and survivors of the horrific torture at Kodok include Emmanuel Lukudu and Philip Lomodong Lako.
By 1969 the Equatorian rebels found support among foreign governments and were able to obtained weapons and supplies. Anya Nya recruits were trained in Israel where they also got some of their weapons. The Anya Nya rebels received financial assistance from Southern Sudanese and Southern exiles from the Middle East, Western Europe, and North America. By the late 1960s, the war had resulted in the deaths of half a million people and several hundred thousand southerners escaped to hide in the forests or to refugee camps in neighboring countries.
Anya Nya controlled the southern countryside while the government forces controlled the major towns in the region. The Anya Nya rebels were small in number and scattered all over the region making their operations ineffective. It is estimated that there were between 5,000 and 10,000 Anya Nya rebels.
On May 25, 1969, Colonel Jaafar Nimeiry led a military coup and overthrew General Ibrahim Abboud regime. In 1971 Joseph Lagu, from the Madi ethnic group, became the leader of the southern forces opposed to Khartoum government and founded the South Sudan Liberation Movement (SSLM). Anya Nya leaders united and rallied behind Lagu. Lagu was also supported by exiled southern politicians. With Lagu's leadership the SSLM created a governing infrastructure throughout many areas in southern Sudan. In 1972 Nimeri held negotiations with the Anya Nya at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. At the talks the Anya Nya demanded a separate southern government and an army to defend the south. Ethiopia's Emperor Haile Selassie moderated the talks and helped the two sides reach an agreement. The result was the Addis Ababa Agreement. The agreement granted autonomy for the South with three provinces: Equatoria, Bar al Ghazal and Upper Nile. The south would have a regional president appointed by the national president to oversee all aspects of government in the region. The national government would maintain authority over defense, foreign affairs, currency, and finance, and economic and social planning, and interregional concerns. The members of the Anya Nya would be incorporated into the Sudanese army and have equal status with the northern forces. The agreement declared Arabic as Sudan's official language and English as the south's principal language for administration and schooling. Despite opposition from SSLM leaders on the terms of the Agreement, Joseph Lagu approved the agreement and both sides agreed to a cease-fire. The Addis Ababa Accords were signed on March 27, 1972 and the Sudanese celebrated that day as National Unity Day. This agreement resulted in a hiatus in the Sudanese civil war from 1972 to 1983.
In January 2020, the National Alliance for Democracy and Freedom Action (NADAFA) sought to join talks in Rome seeking to resolve political rifts within South Sudan. The group is a coalition of holdout political groups including the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), which was not signatory to the peace agreement signed by President Salva Kiir’s South Sudanese government in 2018. NADAFA sought a power-sharing arrangement in the new national government, with "People’s Constitutional Conventions" held in Equatoria, Upper Nile and Bahr al Ghazal. In September 2020, Sudans Post published a message from Dr. Hakim Dario, the leader of NADAFA, expressing concern that the new nation had been named "South Sudan" and proposed that the nation should be called "Equatoria Federal Republic".
On February 9, 2022, the Azande community in Yambio held a coronation ceremony for King Atoroba Peni Rikito Gbudue. The traditional royal title was last held by King Rikito's great-grandfather King Gbudue, who died in 1905. Some neighboring cultural groups such as the Maridi and Balanda people wrote letters to the new king, warning him that they would not be subjects to the restored kingdom, with the Maridi letter specifically rejecting any ethnic political divisions, saying "We stand to promote the Republic of South Sudan, not the culture of a specific group.” However, Badagbu Daniel Rimbasa, the king's brother, stated that the new king will not participate in politics. “It’s purely promotion of our culture and its preservation and heritage, not political.”
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