Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla was born on 10 January 1964 in Ido, in the Diocese of Torit in Eastern Equatoria, then part of Sudan. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Torit on 21 April 1991 and worked pastorally in Khartoum before earning a doctorate in dogmatic theology at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome. Returning to South Sudan — independent from 2011 and soon torn by civil war — he taught and served in seminary formation at St Paul's Major Seminary in Juba.
On 3 January 2019 Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of Torit, a diocese vacant for over five years after Bishop Akio Johnson Mutek's death; he was consecrated on 3 March 2019. That December Francis moved him to the metropolitan see of Juba, and he was installed on 22 March 2020 — an appointment resisted by a section of Juba's clergy and laity, which he answered by staying and serving. He also administered the dioceses of Torit and, for a time, Wau. Created cardinal on 30 September 2023, with the titular church of Santa Gemma Galgani — the first cardinal in South Sudan's history — he is a member of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and was a cardinal elector in the 2025 conclave.
Consequential Quotes
Being a Cardinal is an eye opener and a proof to the world that South Sudan believes in God and deserves recognition in the top leadership of the Church.
This office of the Cardinal is not only for one person; it is for all of us in South Sudan.
For us new Cardinals, it is our role to encourage people in their own difficulties; that alone can help us to have hope in God and hope in the life to come.
The Church in South Sudan must be a beacon of hope and an active agent in fostering peace and unity. The scars of conflict run deep in South Sudan. Every day we witness the devastating effects of violence.
The Church must not only lament the violence but also actively engage in initiatives that foster dialogue, understanding, and healing.
Major Works & Initiatives
Bishop of Torit
Given a diocese that had stood vacant for five years, in the region where he was born and ordained — his first episcopal charge, held for less than a year before the call to Juba.
Archbishop of Juba
Installed as metropolitan of South Sudan's capital see on 22 March 2020, amid a contested reception, and led the archdiocese through the country's fragile peace process.
First cardinal of South Sudan
Created cardinal on 30 September 2023 — his country's first — weeks after Pope Francis's ecumenical peace pilgrimage to Juba with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland.
'Beacon of hope' — the Juba plenary
Chaired the Juba Ecclesiastical Province's plenary assembly in July 2025, setting the South Sudanese Church's agenda of peace-building, dialogue and outreach to victims of violence.
Controversies
Resistance to his appointment to Juba (2019–2020)
Ameyu's transfer from Torit to Juba in December 2019 was resisted by a section of the archdiocese's clergy and laity, in tensions that had an ethnic edge — he is from Eastern Equatoria, and some in Juba demanded a native of the capital region. Critics questioned the appointment publicly; supporters, and the Holy See, held that a bishop is given to a diocese, not drawn from it. Ameyu took possession on 22 March 2020 and governed through the dispute, and the resistance gradually subsided; ACI Africa's reporting at his cardinalate noted the earlier resistance as part of his record.