The man who hanged himself in Gogrial West County on Friday was a member of the South Sudan People’s Defense Force (SSPDF) Division 6, officials said.
The County Commissioner for Gogrial West in Warrap State, Victor Week Koor, said the deceased was based in Yambio, Western Equatoria.
Koor confirmed to Radio Tamazuj that the soldier had been suffering from a long time illness, and had reportedly not been accorded any treatment.
“People found the late hanging dead from a big tree on Friday morning,’’ the Commissioner added.
Koor dismissed speculation that the soldier died due to lack of proper healthcare within the SSPDF administration.
He urged the residents of Warrap and South Sudan to desist from exposing dead bodies on social media.
“The allegations that the late was not happy and his health was deteriorating are not true and one should refrain from posting dead bodies on social media platforms,” he said.
Week urged South Sudanese to avoid exaggerating matters, and appealed to relatives and families of people with mental illness and other diseases to monitor them to avoid accidents.
In recent months, South Sudan has faced challenges as civil servants and soldiers have gone unpaid for several months.
Civil society activists and observers attribute the government’s inability to pay salaries to poor management of non-oil revenues and a decline in oil production.