FILE - Stacks of South Sudanese newspapers sit on shelves in the office of the Association for Media Development in South Sudan in Juba, a day after The Citizen media group was ordered by government officials to shut down, May 6, 2019.
JUBA , SOUTH SUDAN - The Union of Journalists in South Sudan is calling on the government to release Jackson Ochaya, a journalist who was detained a week ago after he contacted a rebel group spokesman for a story.
A family member who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals told Ochaya’s newspaper, the No. 1 Citizen, that agents of the National Security Service (NSS) are holding Ochaya at their headquarters in Jebel.
Ochaya is likely being detained because he contacted the spokesman for the rebel National Salvation Front (NAS) for comment on an article he was writing, according to Oliver Modi, chairperson of the Union of Journalists in South Sudan.
Reporter, managing editor questioned
On August 31, the NSS summoned Ochaya and the newspaper’s acting managing editor, Stella Kiden, to their headquarters for questioning.
“The security just questioned those of the No. 1 newspaper on how they came to write that story and particularly their communication with, of course, the NAS. That’s the cause of everything, but according to the journalist, this is a balancing of a story. According to the principles of journalism, when you are writing a story, the story should not be a one-sided story,” Modi told VOA’s South Sudan in Focus.
Kiden said the NSS released her and Ochaya that evening, then asked Ochaya to return the following day to pick up his identity card.
Kiden said Ochaya returned to work at the paper on September 1 but later asked permission to leave so he could meet an uncle who had asked Ochaya to meet him in the Thingpiny residential area. That was the last time she saw him.
It is a mystery as to why security agents would release Ochaya on August 31 and detain him the next day, said Modi.
'What is the problem.'
“The family members found him in the national security office where he was being questioned. So now, the media authority and the Union of Journalists are wondering what is the problem again,” Modi told VOA.
The National Security Service has not commented on Ochoya’s detention.
The journalists’ union does not have the legal right to visit Ochaya at the detention center except through permission from the South Sudan Media Authority, said Modi.
Call for release of reporter
Modi called on the security operatives to release Ochaya immediately.
“I don’t see the reason why they actually called the journalist and his editor; they have talked, they have agreed, they then released this journalist to go and do their work and then after some hours, they then came back and took the journalist. They should not treat journalists like criminals,” Modi said.
Under South Sudan’s constitution, a detained person is supposed to appear in a court of law within 24 hours of their detention.
Newer articles:
- South Sudan parties differ over control of counties - 09/09/2020 10:45
- Canada announces more funds for midwifery, GBV services in South Sudan during pandemic - 09/09/2020 09:48
- Mobile App Issuing COVID-19 Digital certificates to resolve congestion at EAC Border Points - 09/09/2020 09:26
- South Sudan, Ethiopia Need to Deepen Bilateral Ties - President Kiir - 08/09/2020 20:45
- Anhui Medical Team Assist South Sudan - 08/09/2020 19:42
Older news items
- Egypt's irrigation minister heads to South Sudan to discuss increasing cooperation - 08/09/2020 10:46
- Sudan Ends 30 Years Of Islamic Law In Historic Decision, Separates State And Religion - 07/09/2020 16:04
- Healthcare in South Sudan: A Fractured System - 07/09/2020 11:52
- South Sudan's health minister praises Chinese medics for assistance - 07/09/2020 07:28
- South Sudan, Cameroon In Friendly Game - CHAN Preparations - 07/09/2020 06:33
Latest news items (all categories):
- إلى متى ينظر الجميع إلى الفيل و يطعنون ظله..؟ - 15/05/2024 21:51
- SOUTH SUDAN - Peace negotiations in Kenya: Not everyone is convinced of the initiative - 14/05/2024 20:40
- ‘Difficult choices’: The particular vulnerability of children with disabilities in South Sudan - 14/05/2024 20:35
- Uganda in talks with China's Sinohydro over power line to South Sudan - 14/05/2024 20:31
- What South Sudan Can Learn from Neighboring Gold Producers - 14/05/2024 20:27
Random articles (all categories):
- South Sudan, Uganda agree to demarcate border - 02/01/2016 07:00
- Aweil West: Host community welcomes new camp for Sudanese refugees - 06/06/2023 03:14
- Wedding Announcement - 21/03/2010 14:15
- President Kiir’s pedantic tricks in the SPLM Oyee machine - 01/07/2013 12:31
- Clinton given credit for pushing Sudan, South Sudan to resolve oil fee dispute - MiamiHerald.com - 04/08/2012 17:22
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 35479 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 21875 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 20767 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 17450 times
- With prisons full, South Sudan to introduce mobile courts to clear backlog of cases - 11/10/2012 11:29 - Read 14234 times