Gov’t officials narrate events leading to minister Manawa’s demise

JUBA – Several South Sudan government officials contacted by Sudans Post have narrated the events leading to the death of the country’s opposition Minister of Water Resources & Irrigation Manawa Peter Gatkuoth.

Gatkuoth who is also the spokesman of the main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) led by First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny died in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Sunday morning.

Wednesday, 15 June 2022

According to a senior government official close to Hon. Manawa, the minister arrived in his office during the normal start of working hours on Wednesday, 15 June 2022.

During that day, the minister and his environmental counterpart Josephine Napon were to file a report on the dredging initiative of Naam River in Unity state that was going to be presented to the council of ministers on Friday.

At 3:30PM, the minister complained of chest pain and was rushed to Freedom Hospital at Nimra Talata neighborhood at 4:00PM local time and was then transferred to Baraka hospital and was discharged relatively stable.

“The chest pain continued throughout the night and in the morning there was a growing concern not only among the family, but within the circle of the minister,” the official who is close to the late minister said.

Thursday, 16 June 2022

The official said that two suggestions came up the following morning for the minister to either be evacuated for intensive medical attention in Cairo, Egypt, or in Nairobi, Kenya. The minister requested to be taken to Cairo.

At 3:00PM, Minister Manawa was taken to the airport on Friday and the plane departed at 4:00PM. He was accompanied by his wife Firial Gatkuoth and a private camera man at the minister’s office.

When taken to the hospital in Cairo, the doctor reportedly suggested an operation saying that there was a nerve blocking blood flow in the heart and in the process.

That was on Saturday morning. On Sunday, exactly at 5:00AM, the minister was pronounced dead after an apparent surgery failure.