Machar lauds ‘Egyptian brothers’ for trying to help late Manawa before ‘God called him’  

JUBA – South Sudan’s First Vice President and leader of the main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) Dr. Riek Machar Teny has lauded Egyptian doctors for trying their best to save the life of Irrigation Minister Manawa Peter Gatkuoth Gual.

Gatkuoth who doubles as the spokesman of the main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) passed on in the Egyptian capital on June 19 after he was flown in for specialized treatment after developing chest pains in the capital, Juba.

Dr. Machar made these remarks in Juba on Monday while addressing thousands of mourners who gathered at Simba square to pay tribute to late minister Manawa after his body arrived in the capital Juba from Egypt.

“We want to thank our brothers in Egypt, we recognize that they have done their best to save his life; particularly we all know that Egypt is a leading country in cardiology that is in diseases of heart,” Machar told mourners in Juba.

Machar said Egyptian “doctors had tried their best to rescue Manawa but God called him”

“It is only God that has taken his life, so we want to thank our Egyptian brothers and sisters who try their best in his life but God has called him,” he said.

“This man, his work was so remarkable. In government whether at the state or at the national level, he worked, and his work was also remarkable.”

Gatkuoth was appointed minister in March 2020 in line with the 2018 revitalized peace agreement that came into effect on February 22, 2020.

Besides his ministerial position, Gatkouth was also the Chairman of the National Committee for Information and Public Relations, and also a member of the SPLM-IO Political Bureau.

His father, the late Peter Gatkuoth Gual, was a prominent South Sudanese politician.