Obituary - Dr Joy Theophilus and Dr Emmanuel Kenyi
Dr Joy Vero Pai Theophilus
Dr Joy was a young doctor full of untapped potential, described by many as passionate, outgoing and always happy to extend a helping hand.
She graduated from the Ahfad University for Women in 2003 with a Bachelor Degree in Medicine and Surgery (MBBS). Following her training she served as a medical officer at Malakia Health Center in Juba for one year. She worked for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) as their Programme Associate for Monitoring and Evaluation from 2006 to 2009, before joining the South Sudan Aids Commission (SSAC) as the Director General for Programme Coordination. She was appointed the first Registrar of the South Sudan General Medical Council in 2015.
Dr Joy obtained her Master of Science degree in Public Health (MSc.PH), Reproductive Health Track, from the School of Health Sciences and School of Medicine at Ahfad University for Women in Khartoum in 2015. She attended other courses in Switzerland and Germany over the last years.
With a big heart for teaching others, Dr Joy was a tutor at the Juba College of Nursing and Midwifery as well as part-time tutor for undergraduate students at Ahfad University for Women, School of Medicine.
On top of her responsibilities as a doctor, Dr Joy was passionate about music and singing. She was an active member of the Catholic church youth groups since the days in Khartoum until the relocation to South Sudan, serving as the choir leader for the St Joseph Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Juba.
Dr Joy passed on in Juba on 20th April 2019 due to septicaemic shock. She will be greatly missed.
Dr Emmanuel Eliaba Kenyi
Dr Emmanuel was a person of high integrity, jolly, friendly, straightforward and extraordinarily brave. His friendship appeal had no boundaries; and for this reason, he was given several remarkable nicknames. For example, his brothers, relatives, colleagues and friends called him Chua and within the social circles and his soccer frenzy colleagues, he was called Bafana Bafana.
A graduate of the College of Medicine of Upper Nile University in 2004, Dr Emmanuel always stood true to his calling as a medical doctor, to the extent that he put treating his patients first.
He worked in several positions in South Sudan, starting as the Executive Director of the National Health Insurance Fund, Central Equatoria State, Juba (Jan 2009 – 2012) and the Medical Director of Malakia PHCC, State Ministry of Health, CES/Juba (2012 – 2014). Until his death, Dr Emmanuel served as the Medical Director, Al Sabbah Children Hospital, Jubek State, Juba.
