The acting mayor of Juba, the capital city of South Sudan, has been dismissed from his position after a video surfaced showing him allegedly slapping a member of the public.
Emmanuel Khamis Richard had resisted calls to resign despite mounting pressure from fellow politicians after the video, in which he appeared to assault a female street vendor, went viral a week ago.
The governor of Central Equatoria state announced his removal on Friday evening, a decision that gained wider attention over the weekend.
This action came in response to a unanimous letter from Members of Parliament urging the mayor’s removal. Mr. Khamis Richard has neither confirmed nor denied the allegations of slapping the woman.
Before his dismissal, he had been summoned to appear before Juba city councillors to address the incident, but he did not attend and instead requested a two-week delay.
At present, no successor has been appointed. However, Martin Simon Wani, the head of Juba city council, has been tasked with overseeing the general operations of the municipality in the interim.