Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Sunday extended condolences to South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir over the death of South Sudan’s Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Manawa Peter Gatkuoth.

President Sisi sent a message of condolences to Kiir, First Vice President Riek Machar, and South Sudan’s government and people, Egyptian Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement on Sunday.

Minister Manawa died Sunday morning at a hospital in the Egyptian capital Cairo, according to Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth.

Makuei, who is also the government spokesperson, told Radio Tamazuj Sunday that the minister was rushed to Egypt on Friday for further treatment after he suffered a cardiac arrest in Juba.

“The cause of death remains unclear. But the late was suffering from heart disease. He was admitted to a hospital for two days here in Juba, but he was evacuated to Egypt on Friday for further treatment,” he said.  

“It is a great loss to the whole country,” Makuei added.

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

Manawa was a senior member of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO), one of the main parties to the peace agreement. He also served as minister of physical infrastructure in Jonglei state before the conflict in December 2013.