Africa

South Sudanese mayor sacked after ‘slapping woman’

The acting mayor of South Sudan’s capital city, Juba, has been sacked after he was caught on camera apparently slap­ping a member of the public.

Emmanuel Khamis Rich­ard had refused to resign despite mounting pressure from fellow politicians since footage of him appearing to assault the female street ven­dor went viral a week ago.

His dismissal was an­nounced by the governor of Central Equatoria state on Friday evening, then more widely reported over the weekend.

The governor acted after MPs had sent him a letter unanimously calling for the mayor’s removal.

Mr Khamis Richard hasn’t admitted or denied slapping the woman. Before his sack­ing he had been summoned to appear before councillors in Juba to answer for his actions, but he didn’t appear and instead requested a two-week reprieve.

No successor has yet been appointed. But the head of Juba city council, Martin Si­mon Wani, has been ordered to supervise the general activities of the municipality for the time being.

—BBC

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