Salva Kiir
South Sudan ministers test positive for coronavirus
Ten cabinet ministers in South Sudan are now confirmed to have contracted Coronavirus. Information Minister Michael Makuei has said that all former members of the high-level task force on Coronavirus – apart from the health minister – have tested positive for Covid-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus. But he has denied reports that President Salva Kiir – who was also a member of the team – had also tested positive. It comes just days after first Vice-President Riek Machar announced he had tested positive alongside his wife, Defence Minister Angelina Teny. They tested positive after coming into contact with a former member of the team, who has Covid-19. All the ministers infected are now in self-isolation and the government says they are in good health. Dozens of bodyguards and ...
South Sudan registers two new coronavirus deaths
South Sudan has registered two new coronavirus deaths, just a day after recording its first virus related death. The government said that the dead were in their late 50s. Addressing the press on Friday in Juba, Dr Makur Koriom, the spokesman of the High-Level Taskforce says apart from the two deaths, the country also recorded four new Covid-19 cases on Friday. CONFIRMED POSITIVE “Three alerts that were admitted over the last 48 hours were confirmed positive. Unfortunately, the two of these alerts succumbed to their illness before we obtained their results,” Dr Koriom said. “The other alerts were positive, they came in critical conditions, but they were managed and they are now in a stable condition at Dr. John Garang Infectious Disease Unit. This brings the total number of confirmed Covid-...
South Sudan rivals face fresh feud over control of states
South Sudan’s main rivals were at loggerheads Friday over who will control the country’s 10 internal states, an issue that analysts and diplomats worried could jeopardise a power-sharing deal reached earlier this year. President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar, old foes whose fallout in 2013 sparked a civil war, agreed on February to form a new government after intense international pressure to deliver lasting peace to the conflict-torn country. But while they managed to name a cabinet in March, they have yet to strike a deal on who can appoint governors to the states. On Thursday night Kiir announced a breakthrough on the state’s issue, saying his party would appoint six governors while Machar’s would appoint three. The remaining state would be governed by the South Sudan Oppositi...
