The revered and long-serving paramount chief Mario Waya Ucuir Dut of Western Bahr el Ghazal State has passed away at the venerable age of 93.
The distinguished chief’s demise was confirmed by a medical report emanating from the Nile King Hospital in the national capital, Juba. According to the report, Chief Mario Waya was admitted due to severe respiratory distress complications stemming from acute aspiration pneumonia.
The hospital’s clinical assessment revealed a distressing diagnosis of vocal cord paralysis attributed to malignant infiltration caused by an advanced laryngeal pathology. Family spokesperson Oliva Kang Dut told Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday that the late chief had been grappling with throat cancer for the past three years.
Dut lamented, “He was down suffering with illness, and he was not taken to a standard hospital which would have facilitated a comprehensive examination. He succumbed to cancer.”
Reflecting on the efforts made to treat the chief, Dut further revealed, “When he was taken to Juba, the doctors tried their level best to treat the cancer but it was not possible due to his advanced age.”
Chief Mario Waya’s legacy is deeply rooted in his role as the paramount chief of Jur River County, a position he assumed in 1971. His tenure as a leading chief spanned an impressive 52 years, ending only with his recent passing.
Dut proudly shared, “The chief was installed as a chief in 1971. He was married with four wives and survived by 32 children.”
In the wake of his passing, Dut earnestly called upon the citizens of Western Bahr el Ghazal state to extend their sympathies to the grieving family, highlighting that the chief’s death was a natural culmination of life’s journey.
He emotionally conveyed, “As I speak now, the late has a family which includes me myself as his son. It is his peers who were of the same age that can perceive his departure. Let me call on people to stay in sympathy with us and not forget us.”
Meanwhile, Elias Waya, the former governor of the defunct Wau region and a member of the same family, fondly remembered the late chief as a statesman who played a pivotal role in Western Bahr el Ghazal. Particularly noteworthy was his support for the movement during Sudan’s conflict, where he rallied young men to join the army.
Elias Waya emphasized, “During his term in office as chief for more than 50 years, this gives him a legacy that the young generation will have to follow in his footsteps in leading the community in a peaceful manner.”
Following Chief Waya’s deteriorating condition, he was transferred to Juba and eventually back to Wau. Sadly, despite these efforts, he breathed his last at the Wau Teaching Hospital on Tuesday. The paramount chief will find his final resting place in his home area of Roc-Roc dong payam.