Jemma Nunu Kumba

Early life

Jemma Nunu Kumba was born in Tombura County of Western Equatoria. During her childhood, she moved from Tombura County to a refugee camp in Central Africa. She later attended secondary school from 1983 to 1986 in Juba.

Career

In 1990s, Kumba worked as administrator of a company with ties to the SPLA and then as a coordinator for the New Sudan Council of Churches. When her husband was appointed Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) representative to Namibia, Kumba moved with him. While in Nambia she enrolled at the University of Namibia, studying public administration from 1999 to 2002. In 2002, she participated peace talks on behalf of SPLM in Kenya. After the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, she served as a member of parliament in Khartoum. Kumba is a member of the SPLM party.

Kumba was the first woman to serve as governor after the CPA. She sppointed Governor of the Western Equatoria State in 2008. She lost the April 2010 election for governor to Bangassi Joseph Mario Bakosoro.

On 10 July 2011 was appointed the Minister for Housing and Physical Planning in the Cabinet of South Sudan. On 3 August 2013, President of South Sudan Salva Kiir Mayardit shuffled several ministers and deputies, moving Kumba to Minister of Electricity, Dams, Irrigation & Water Resources. By July 2016 she was Minister of Wildlife Conservation and Tourism.

In October 2015, President Kiir Mayardit, appointed Kumba to serve as deputy secretary general of SPLM. At the same time, Salva Kiir dissolved national secretariats and tasked Kumba with recommending new party secretariats. She replaced Anne Itto Leonardo in the position of deputy secretary general of SPLM. Kumba was sworn in on 13 November 2015.

Personal life

She is married to Festo Kumba, the former minister of Animal Resources and Fisheries. The couple has four children.