Immigration chief says Hepatitis is rampant among police officers

JUBA – South Sudan’s newly-appointed Director-General of the Directorate of Nationality, Civil Registry, Passport, and Immigration, Maj. Gen. Simon Majur Pabek, disclosed on Thursday that the Hepatitis virus is widespread among police officers, leading to the loss of many servicemembers.

Speaking during his reception ceremony held in Juba, General Majur mentioned that the disease has been prevalent within the police force since his tenure in the immigration directorate in 2018.

“The second topic, which is going to be within our plan, and maybe I’m not talking about what is going on today here within this directive, but it’s going back to when I was here in 2018,” he said.

“We have issues to do with the welfare of our officers and NCOs, and we have a very permanent sickness within this institution, hepatitis,” he added.

He stated that the department has “lost a lot of our brothers and sisters in this institution due to that particular sickness.”

He called for efforts to address the disease and emphasized the need for cooperation within the directorate to tackle the issue.

“We need to have a very clear plan on how to address it. Again, all these kinds of things, we need cooperation,” he said.

“If we don’t cooperate with any institution here, that means even our IGP will not support. If we don’t cooperate with any institution here, that means even our IGP will not support us,” he added.

Hepatitis is a viral infection known for its various strains, namely Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Hepatitis D, and Hepatitis E. This infectious condition specifically targets the liver, leading to inflammation and potentially severe damage.

Each variant of Hepatitis has distinct characteristics, modes of transmission, and impacts on liver health. The common denominator across these strains is their ability to cause liver inflammation, which can manifest in symptoms ranging from mild discomfort to more serious complications

Gen. Majur was appointed by President Salva Kiir Mayardit as the new Director-General of the Directorate of Nationality, Civil Registry, Passport, and Immigration last week.

He replaces General Atem Marol, who was appointed as the Inspector General of Police by President Kiir in November of the previous year.