Obituary: Dr Festo Jambo Elias Kayanga
Dr Festo Jambo is among the latest crop of South Sudanese obstetricians who emerged through the struggle of the 1980s and 1990s to serve in the field when few doctors existed.
He was born in 1959 to Mr Kayanga Iyengwa of Kediba clan and Mrs Aja Buda of Vora clan in Mundri West County in Western Equatoria. Dr Festo went to local schools in the 1960s and early 1970s before joining Rumbek Secondary School. He completed his secondary education at Loka Secondary School where he sat for his Sudan School Certificate Examinations. He went on to graduate from the College of Medicine, University of Juba in 1990.
Dr Festo had a distinguished career in medicine. He qualified as an obstetrician and gynaecologist from the Sudan National Specialization Board in 2009 and worked in several hospitals in Sudan and South Sudan, including El Saudi Maternity Hospital in Kassala, El Suki Specialty Hospital in Sennar and Juba Teaching Hospital in South Sudan. He served as a senior obstetrician and gynaecologist and Director General of JTH, and was also on the faculty of the College of Medicine of Juba University, where his students described him as a “hard-working and caring instructor”.
Dr Festo set his sight on serving the people of South Sudan in his field of medicine. This dedication led him and other colleagues to set up one of the well-known private maternity hospitals in Juba – The Munuki Specialized Maternity Center (Mauna) in 2009. Due to his diligence and attention to his work, his name became synonymous with “pregnancy and birth” to the women who went to him for antenatal care and a safe place to deliver.
He will be greatly missed by his patients and students who had come to love his compassion and considerate persona. He will especially be missed by his community, who saw him in sorrow comforting people in funerals or joining them in happy occasions.
Dr Festo Jambo died in Juba, South Sudan, on March 27, 2017 after suffering from complications of liver disease. He is survived by his dear wife Mama Monica Jambo and his children Parag, Kide, Buda and Novela.
