Billboard erected by AMDISS in Juba as part of its media advocacy. |Credit: AMDISS|.
Nairobi—October 24, 2024, the Association for Media Development in South Sudan (AMDISS) expressed dismay over the exclusion of journalists reporting for independent media houses from covering a conference designed to validate the judicial reforms report conducted to ascertain the state of functionality of the judicial system in the war-ravaged nation.
This came following the bid to cover the launching of the judicial reform process report at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Juba on Wednesday, 23 October 2024. Some journalists who spoke to The Golden Times on condition of anonymity stated that the security personnel of the first vice president prevented them from covering the event.
However, a few media houses were allowed, including the UN-based Radio Miraya, Eye Radio, No. 1 Citizen, The Dawn, and the state-owned television (SSBC); the rest were disallowed.
The journalists who were prevented expressed their disappointment and the harsh attitude of the security personnel.
“We were told to vacate the premises,” a 30-year-old journalist texted The Golden Times on WhatsApp. “We were invited by the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to cover the launching of the report; I am wondering why the security personnel pushed us out. It is a clear violation of press freedom and this must be confirmed in the strongest terms possible,” he lamented.
“The launching was attended by three vice presidents, and each came with a huge number of bodyguards and security agents who occupied the conference hall, making the space small for the press team who were officially invited to cover the event,” he narrated.
South Sudan’s judicial system suffers multiple challenges, including insufficient funding and interference from the members of the executive arm of the government, making it difficult for judges to provide justice to the afflicted.
AMDISS wondered why the government invited the journalists just to be told to not attend on the pretext that the space was small.
“Being invited only to be excluded at the last moment is also a kind of ironic injustice to both the members of the press and the general public, who are the beneficiaries of the information,” the media advocacy body said in a statement.
“The role of the media is pivotal in ensuring transparency, accountability, and checks and balances within governance processes in the country. By providing the public access to critical information, the press fosters informed citizenry and upholds democratic principles. This deliberate action undermines these principles and raises questions about the intentions behind such exclusion. The act amounts to media violation,” it added.
It called on the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, as well as other relevant authorities, to provide a genuine explanation as to why some journalists were banished from covering the event.
It also appealed to the government to commit to prioritizing unhindered access to information by removing the constraints and ending media censorship to promote transparency and public accountability.
According to Amnesty International, South Sudan’s authorities, especially the National Security Service (NSS) have harassed, intimidated, and arbitrarily detained journalists while the government has failed to pass key laws to protect freedom of expression.
As a result, this fundamental right has been increasingly eroded in South Sudan since independence in 2011.
Since the beginning of the country’s internal armed conflict in mid-December 2013, the Government of South Sudan has further clamped down on journalists, writers, and commentators, creating an atmosphere of fear.
Journalists cannot report freely on the ongoing conflict, and newspapers are unable to participate in open debate on how the country could move towards sustainable peace without fear of retribution by state security forces.
