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 a female street vendor went viral a week ago.
His dismissal was announced by the governor of Central Equatoria state on Friday evening, and 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. However, the head of the Juba city council, Martin Simon Wani, has been ordered to supervise the general activities of the municipality for the time being.
