South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has sacked two senior aides after appointing a dead man to a panel tasked with leading discussions on elections.
Steward Soroba Budia, a member of the opposition United Democratic Party, was announced as a member of the panel despite dying five years ago.
The appointment sparked widespread mockery on social media.
Kiir’s press secretary David Amour Major and the chief administrator in the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, Valentino Dhel Maluet, were relieved of their duties without reason.
Amour had earlier attributed the mistake to a lack of verification by stakeholders.
The panel is crucial for paving the way for December elections, but doubts persist about the feasibility of the polls amid ongoing conflict.
The UN reports over 180,000 people have fled their homes due to recent fighting.
