Late Ambassador Telar Ring Deng (left), seen here with President Kiir (right) in August 2018 after he ended his self-imposed exile. Photo: File
Juba, December 27, 2020 (SSNA) — A former South Sudanese ambassador to Russian Federation and legal advisor to President Salva Kiir has died of Coronavirus, a senior government official who does not want to be named because he was not authorized to speak on behave of the family of the deceased told the South Sudan News Agency (SSNA) on Sunday.
The official explains that Telar Ring Deng who was South Sudan ambassador to Russia and who was also a legal advisor to President Kiir died of Covid-19 and that the late ambassador encountered “serious breathing problems” before he passed away. He died in Aspen Clinic in Juba where he received treatment.
Before his death, Telar disclosed in a Facebook post that he was tested positive for Covid-19 and urged the people of South Sudan to keep wearing masks.
“On 24th December 2020, I tested positive for COVID-19 while undergoing treatment at Aspen Medical Centre after a short period of illness. I was immediately transferred to the Infectious Disease Unit (IDU) and currently stable. As we head into the festive season, we should be vigilant and remember that COVID-19 still exists. Lets continue wearing our masks, maintaining social distance and washing our hands or sanitizing. Any urgent communication can be done through my daughter Yar Telar as I recuperate. Merry Christmas and a happy new year. May 2021 be a year of peace, reconciliation and a better South Sudan for all of us,” he wrote.
Telar resigned as South Sudan’s ambassador to Russia in January 2018. He then went to self-imposed exile in Kenya and returned to the country in August the same year.