Q&A with an editor of South Sudan’s Juba Monitor
Police arbitrarily arrested Michael Koma, the managing editor of South Sudan’s daily Juba Monitor, on May 2 and detained him for four days following the publication of an article critical of the deputy security minister. A veteran journalist, Koma has experienced firsthand the poor state of press freedom within Africa’s newest country. CPJ spoke with…
Press must be able to work freely in South Sudan
Dear President Salva Kiir Mayardit: We are writing to express our deep concern about the deteriorating state of press freedom in your country. In the past six months, CPJ has documented several cases of attacks, intimidation, and detention of journalists by security agents in South Sudan and we are concerned that this harassment has led to self-censorship and even exile among the local press corps. We urge you to use the power of your office to ensure that journalists are allowed to work freely without harassment and censure from state security officials.
In South Sudan, two journalists detained in Wau
Nairobi, January 4, 2013–Authorities in South Sudan have been holding two state broadcast journalists without charge since Tuesday, according to local journalists and media reports. The journalists were picked up in a sweep of arrests following protests and ethnic clashes last month in the northwestern town of Wau in Western Bahr el Ghazal State.
South Sudan blogger and government critic killed
CPJ has been monitoring South Sudan’s commitment to freedom of expression and free press since the country gained independence in 2011. This month, CPJ called for investigation into the death of an online reporter, Isaiah Diing Abraham Chan Awuol.Reuters UK quotes CPJ East Africa Consultant, Tom Rhodes, on the press freedom climate in the country. Click here for…
South Sudan minister defies condemnation against international reporter
Critical journalists often face attacks from governments, CPJ found. A South Sudan minister recently accused a reporter of McClatchy newspaper “to be in pay” of Sudan, after the journalist detailed the country’s support of Sudanese rebels. The Sudan Tribune reports on the story, with commentary from CPJ’s East Africa Consultant, Tom Rhodes. Click here for the full story
McClatchy’s Boswell caught in South Sudan’s war of words
A day before U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited South Sudan this month, McClatchy correspondent Alan Boswell reported that President Salva Kiir had finally acknowledged his government’s support for a Nuba Mountains-based group that had been skirmishing with Sudanese forces. In a letter to his U.S. counterpart, the story said, Kiir apologized for…
Corruption a no-go zone for South Sudan’s journalists
Last week, South Sudan’s ruling party secretary-general, Pagan Amum, won an important court battle, absolving him of allegations that he received a $30 million corrupt payment in 2006. The accusations came from former Finance Minister Arthur Akuien Chol, who alleged earlier this year that he had received orders from “above” to transfer the public money,…
Attack on South Sudan reporter sparks critical debate
February is the hottest month in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, and Mading Ngor, a reporter and presenter for the Catholic-owned Bakhita FM, trudged his way through the heat to cover parliament proceedings last week–only to be thrown unceremoniously out of the assembly. “Before I had time to argue, four security guards pinned me…