General Gathoth Gatkuoth’s wife found dead in Addis Ababa under unclear circumstances

JUBA – Former South Sudan minister of labor and public service, General James Gathoth Gatkuoth, who also served as governor for the defunct Latjor state has said that his wife has died under unclear circumstances in an apartment in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

General Gatkuoth said he was told that his wife, which he didn’t identify by name, was found dead in her Hotel room where she lived with her young son who was unfortunately on a visit to the family in Gambella region.

“Yesterday my wife was found dead and her hotel room was locked using the master key. We can’t tell exactly what caused her death, we are still waiting for the police report. They are still investigating who the last contacts were,” Gathoth was quoted by Radio Tamazuj as saying.

General Gatkuoth said he couldn’t travel to Addis Ababa since travels were shut down due to the March outbreak of coronavirus pandemic in South Sudan.

“My son was living with the mother all this time till two days ago when he left for Gambella to visit his siblings, only to learn the sad news of his mother’s death,” he said.

He further said that he will travel from Juba to Addis Ababa in the coming week to understand the circumstances surrounding his wife’s death and organize burial proceedings.