General Salva Mathok. (Courtesy).

The governor of Warrap State has declared three days of mourning for General Salva Mathok, the former deputy minister of Interior, who died on Tuesday.

In a press statement, Governor Manhiem Bol Malek said General Mathok committed a greater part of his life to the struggle for South Sudan’s independence.

“It is with deep sorrow to learn of the passing of our hero and elder, Hon. Lt. General Salva Mathok Gengdit in Thailand,” Malek said in a statement.

“This sad news of his demise has caught us unaware and has therefore necessitated the declaration of a three-day mourning with the state flag flying at half mask in all state institutions.”

Manheim added that the state institutions will resume work on Monday.

Mathok, a war veteran, died while receiving treatment in Kenya’s capital Nairobi, according to Specialized Committee on Defense and Veteran Affairs at the national legislature.

He was appointed to the transitional parliament by the SPLM party to represent Warrap State.

Michael Ayuen Johnson, the chairperson of the Specialized Committee on Defense and Veteran Affairs at the parliament said the country has lost a patriotic icon of nationalism.

According to Governor Manhiem, the legislator died in Thailand, contrary to the parliamentary committee’s account that Mathok passed on in Nairobi.