March 10, 2021(Nyamilepedia) — The former governor of the now-defunct Boma state passed on today after battling ulcers for a long time.
“I would like to announce to the public that honorable Ismail Konyi passed on this morning at 1:00 AM,” said Baba Medan, national Deputy Minister of Information, who comes from the area.
Lokali Amae, a Member of Parliament representing Boma County, said that the late Ismail Konyi has been sick for some time and he had been receiving treatment in Khartoum but upon returning to the country, he fell ill again and passed on this morning.
“In the recent past we took him to Khartoum for treatment and he came back and fell sick again and his hands and legs were swollen and itching,” MP Lokali explained.
“We again took him to the hospital the day before yesterday and he was discharged. We again took him back to a clinic in Hai Mouna at around 6 pm because he was breathing with difficulty and he was supposed to be put on oxygen but he refused,” he added.
Lokali said that they are waiting for more information from the doctors to ascertain the cause of his death but assured his followers that he didn’t die of COVID-19.
“It is not Coronavirus because he has been ill for a long time and we even took him to Khartoum. He went to Khartoum twice this year and the doctors there said to take him back home. So it is not Coronavirus,” MP Lokali added.
He urged people to be strong as they did all they could to save him.
“I would like to tell our tribe that there is nothing we can do. We have to be strong like Sultan Ismail. He did his part in this world. It is now the time for the other leaders in South Sudan to also do their part,” Lokali said.
The late Ismail was one of the elders of the Murle tribe. He worked as the Paramount Chief, sultan of the Murle, from 1980 until his death.
He also worked as the Governor of Buma State during the establishment of the now defunct 32 states.
Until his death, the late Ismail Konyi was the head of the Murle community in South Sudan and a member of the Council of States.
