Stanbic Bank
Stanbic Bank
Stanbic Bank
Stanbic Bank
20.7 C
Kampala
Stanbic Bank
Stanbic Bank
Stanbic Bank
Stanbic Bank

South Sudan president ‘threatens to kill journalists’

Must read

South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayadit has come under strong criticism, following reports he threatened to kill journalists who report negatively about his country.

The threat comes in the wake of complaints about the South Sudan government’s record of press freedom and according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), president Kiir made the remarks at the airport in Juba on Sunday 16, before he left for peace talks with his political nemesis, former vice president Riek Machar Teng in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

“If anybody among [journalists] does not know that this country has killed people, we will demonstrate it one day, one time. … Freedom of the press does not mean you work against the country,” Kiir was quoted as saying.

‘CPJ condemns statements made by South Sudan President Salva Kiir on Sunday in which he threatened to kill journalists for reporting “against the country,”’ an August 17 release by the CPJ states in part.

It add: “The leader of any country threatening to kill journalists is extremely dangerous and utterly unacceptable,” said CPJ East Africa Representative Tom Rhodes. “We call on President Salva Kiir to retract his comments immediately.”

On Monday Kiir and Machar failed to sign a peace deal brokered by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, an eight-country trade bloc in Africa, forcing the international community led by the United States to warn the warring parties of sanctions.

“Local journalists said they believe Kiir’s comments were in connection with the media’s criticism of the protracted nature of the peace negotiations and for alleging corruption in the government,” the CPJ release states.

Authorities have cracked down on journalists as pressure mounted to commit to a peace deal and the CPJ says at least five journalists have been killed in direct relation to their work in South Sudan this year.

Meanwhile, early this month security agents closed two privately owned newspapers, the Arabic daily Al-Rai and the English daily Citizen, as well as the independent media outlet Free Voice South Sudan.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and nearly two million displaced since the civil war started in December 2013, pitting forces loyal to Kiir against those supporting Machar.

- Advertisement -

More articles

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

- Advertisement -

Latest article

- Advertisement -