South Sudan transition must tackle press freedom

Just over seven years ago, independent British-American journalist Christopher Allen was shot and killed by government forces in South Sudan. This is the 10th journalist killed in the country since its independence in 2011, according to a study by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

In March, a government-appointed South Sudanese commission investigating Allen’s killing released its findings, which alarmed the journalist’s family and others who were demanding justice and accountability.

This report, released after more than six years of pressure, failed to follow obvious lines of inquiry or interview crucial witnesses, suggesting shocking levels of incompetence or, more likely, that it was just a verification exercise on the part of the government.

It appears that authorities never intended to credibly investigate the killing, which was considered to have the hallmarks of a war crime by lawyers representing the journalist’s family.

Allen’s assassination and the impunity surrounding it are emblematic of a hostile media environment in South Sudan, where journalists have paid a heavy price after years of conflict.

State repression continues to undermine the media’s ability to report the news, precisely when journalists are needed to keep the public informed in a fragile transition from civil war, following the recent decision to postpone for two years the country’s first elections since independence in 2011.

Now more than ever, authorities in Juba must recognize that safeguarding the freedom and safety of journalists, including holding those who attack them accountable, is essential to achieving the aspirations set out in the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on resolution of the conflict in South Sudan, signed after five years of civil war.

CPJ research linked the killings of six journalists in South Sudan to journalistic work, while investigations continue into the murkier circumstances surrounding the other cases.

The brutality was evident in each of these murders.

Nine journalists were shot and killed, including Pow James Raeth, who was shot dead shortly after publishing an article at the offices of a local internet-enabled NGO, and Peter Julius Moi, who was killed while walking home.

Isaac Vuni, an independent journalist, was kidnapped in June 2016 and his body was found abandoned on a farm near his home more than three months later. Justice has been non-existent in each of the 10 cases documented by CPJ.

The deaths of these journalists are among many horrific atrocities committed against the people of South Sudan during the five-year civil war and ongoing unrest in the years since the signing of the 2018 peace agreement.

The deaths of these journalists also symbolize the silencing of the voices of South Sudanese people. With every journalist killed, untold stories are buried.

A journalist killed in the course of his work is a warning to the South Sudanese press: do you want to suffer the same fate? Or should you tell a different, safer story?

Today, there are few safe stories in South Sudan.

Journalists are thrown behind bars for covering demonstrations, for reports portraying the head of state in an unfavorable light, or even for covering a small religious conflict.

Media outlets risk being shut down if officials feel wronged by their editorial choices and if journalists even self-censor in their coverage of the transition.

Intelligence agents intimidate journalists, in their newsrooms and on their phones, and even exercise their power to remove copies from printing presses, ensuring that critical reporting on governance and corruption never reaches the news outlets. kiosks.

Even in exile, journalists continue to fear the reach of South Sudan’s intelligence services, well-founded concerns given the kidnappings of dissidents in neighboring Kenya. And hanging over these journalists is the knowledge that if they are murdered, their families will not be able to hope for justice.

“We need to think twice before posting or publishing,” a radio journalist said according to an October 2023 report from the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan. “Journalists in South Sudan say: ‘My children are still small, I don’t want to die and leave them orphans,’” ​​the radio journalist added.

In an apparent case of media self-censorship, a radio show speaker told the Commission that he had been told that during their broadcasts they should not “discuss accountability and the hybrid court”, which which is considered a key element of the transition. and which would have the mandate to judge crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The 2018 peace agreement also requires the adoption of a new constitution, as well as the creation of national institutions to reckon with the past and provide healing and reparation. Just like elections, all of these processes are disastrously delayed.

Efforts to get the transition back on track must give South Sudanese media the space to report the news freely and safely.

The people of South Sudan deserve a strong media that gives space to critical and marginalized voices and ensures access to information.

The country’s leaders must end their incessant attacks on the press. They should also eradicate the culture of impunity, ensuring that those who have attacked and killed journalists are held accountable through credible and independent processes.

Ultimately, a successful transition remains the most reliable guarantee that the media will be able to operate freely in the future and that no more journalists will lose their lives for covering the news.

Muthoki Mumo is the Africa program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, a global organization dedicated to defending press freedom around the world.