The body of Akobo State Governor Lt. Gen. Johnson Gony Bilieu will be interred in the capital Juba, the military announced.

Lul Ruai Koang, spokesman of the South Sudan army, told Radio Tamazuj on Monday that General Gony’s body will be buried in Juba. “The family has decided that the body will not be taken to Akobo,” he said.

The senior army officer noted that the military has not yet set a date for burial.

For its part, the family confirmed that the body of Lt. Gen. Johnson Gony will be buried in Juba. “The family met and decided that the body of General Gony will be buried in Juba, because he was one of the liberators,” said Koang Nyuot Dieu, a family member.

Koang pointed out that they are still working closely with the government on the burial arrangements.

Governor Johnson Gony Bilieu died on Thursday last week at a hospital in Turkey while undergoing treatment.

Gony, who hailed from Akobo area, served as the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) Upper Nile sector commander before his appointment as Akobo governor in January 2017.