Ouesso, Republic of Congo – On Saturday, July 27, 2024, around 750 people gathered in the city of Ouesso to participate in the 9th Peace Road march organized by the Brazzaville chapter of UPF-Congo. Prominent guests included the prefects (governors) of Cuvette and Sangha districts and their deputies, all ambassadors for peace, as well as the city mayor and other civil and military officials.
In addition to local marchers, participants were from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, the Central African Republic, and Chad.
The chairman of UPF-Pointe-Noire, Mr. Michel Bounda, welcomed the participants and reminded everyone of the purpose of the march, to promote peace by breaking down ethnic, racial, religious and political barriers. He explained that the theme, "Connecting the World for Peace," is an invitation to every citizen of the world to contribute to the achievement of world peace.
The director of sports of Sangha led participants in physical exercises to warm up. Nine pigeons were released, then the prefect of Sangha, Mr. Edouard Denis Okouya, gave the starting signal for the march. Accompanied by a marching band, participants covered a distance of seven kilometers, from the prefecture office to Red Square.
At the square, Mr. Clement Tsana, secretary general of UPF-Brazzaville, praised the marchers for joining the Peace Road event and helping raise awareness of the importance of becoming true peace-loving citizens of the world.
In his speech at Red Square, Mr. Okouya congratulated UPF-Brazzaville for the smooth conduct of the march, and thanked the marchers for their participation. Having received the Peace Road flag last year from Cuvette prefecture, he then passed it on to the city of Brazzaville, where the 10th Peace Road event will be conducted in 2025. Cuvette Prefect Mr. Jean Christophe Tchikaya received the flag on behalf of the prefect of Brazzaville, who was unable to attend.
To conclude the event, UPF-Congo presented trophies to the mayor of Ouesso, Mr. Armel Sidobe Gah, Curvette prefect Mr. Tchikaya, and Sangha prefect Mr. Okouya. All the authorities and participants then signed a banner of the route, and a group photo was taken.
