Egypt’s polarising health ministry spokesperson sacked

Official spokesman to Egyptian health ministry Khaled Megahed has been sacked after holding the position for six years.

1 min read

15 November, 2021

The sacking comes after years of fraught relations between the spokesperson and the media [Getty]

CAIRO: The official spokesman of Egypt's health ministry, Khaled Megahed, a polarising figure in the media, was sacked on Sunday, according to reports.

Acting Health Minister Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar, also minister of higher education and scientific research, fired Megahed who had held the position for the past six years.

The minister has temporarily replaced Megahed with Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar, the secretary-general of university hospitals.

The sacking of Megahed was met by gloating from some Egyptian health reporters who expressed relief at the ministry's decision on social media.

Throughout the past few years, several crises occurred between Mehaged and journalists. Egypt's press syndicate had denounced Mehaged's handling of the media, including banning some reporters from ministry events.

Egypt's prosecutor general is currently investigating reports, behind closed doors, of corruption involving officials, according to local news reports, although Mehaged has not been linked to these probes.