South Sudan lawmaker dies in Khartoum

JUBA — A South Sudanese lawmaker has died in the Sudanese capital Khartoum following a short-lived battle with undisclosed sickness, according to a statement by Jonglei state governor Denay Jock Chagor.

According to the statement, Emelda Modi Benerato, the lawmaker who was representing Akobo County in the Reconstituted Transitional National Legislative Assembly (R-TNLA) died in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 22.

“It is sad news to announce that the people of Jonglei State as well as South Sudan lost one of their beloved citizens, Hon. Emelda Modi Benerato, to sickness, at Khartoum Hospital, Sudan,” Chagor said in the statement extended to Sudans Post.

“Late Emelda was a Member of Parliament (MP), National Legislative Assembly, represented her County of Akobo Constituency under SPLM Women List, in South Sudan Parliament,” Chagor said, adding that she “succumbed to short sickness on June 22nd, 2021.”

She died at 57, Chagor said, adding “Her demise is a great loss to all people of Jonglei State as well as South Sudan in general, whom she served as a Member of Parliament.”

The senior government official said the lawmaker was a “great icon, library, advisor and a mother to all of us, that her countless contributions and legacies for the welfare of our State and South Sudan as whole should not ever easily be forgotten.”