Dr. Makur Matur Kariom File Photo

President Salva Kiir has sacked the undersecretary at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Makur Matur Koriom.

Dr. Makur was appointed to the position in 2012 when he replaced Dr. Olivia Lomuro.

In a decree read on the state-own SSBC TV on Wednesday evening, Kiir replaced Dr. Makur with Dr. Mayen Machut Achiek.

Dr. Mayen was the Dean of the College of Medicine at the University of Juba.

The changes come when South Sudan is battling the novel coronavirus.

The country has so far 1,604 confirmed cases of Covid-19, with 15 patients recovered and 19 deaths.

The increase in the number of cases in the country has been blamed on the ministry’s poor  “poor response” to curb the virus.

It is not clear why President Kiir relieved Dr. Makur.

However, leaked email exchanges among senior officials showed power wrangles at the ministry.