Singaita 88.3 FM back on air

Singaita 88.3 FM is back on the airwaves after the Eastern Equatoria State government and the radio station management reached an agreement yesterday.

The Chief Executive Officer of Radio Community, Chris Marol, said the radio was reopened by the Deputy Police Commissioner in Kapoeta, Garang Deng.

In a statement released yesterday, the Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJoSS) welcomed the decision to reopen the radio station, adding that it was strategic in the implementation of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) by educating the public about the contents of the agreement.

In part, the statement read, “Singaita 88.3 FM serves not only the people of Kapoeta with vital information but also the pastoral communities in neighbouring Uganda and Kenya, providing job opportunities to members of UJoSS in the process.”

“UJoSS hopes Eastern Equatoria State authorities and the management of Singaita 88.3 FM will build on the spirit of dialogue that led to the opening of the station and work to develop the media and journalists in the country.”

Closure

The state authorities on Friday, December 11 shut down the station and sent away the staff.

Last week, Chris Marol said the order to shut down the radio was sent by the State Minister of Information. He said the minister told them that the reason for the closure was due to the “lack of cooperation between station management and the state authorities.”

“What happened on Friday evening around 6 PM, the National Security came to the radio station, some were outside and three entered the compound and ordered the presenter who was reading the news to stop and come out of the studio,” Chris Marol told Eye Radio.

“They came with a padlock and locked the doors of both the production and on-air studios. They told the staff to leave but allowed the guard to stay, and they left after, and when the staff went to find out what the problem was, they told them to go to Torit. “

This came after UJoSS urged the Eastern Equatoria State government to reopen the station last week, saying the closure had already rid citizens of information and rendered journalists jobless.

Impunity against journalists

In November, UJoSS urged the government to launch an investigation into the crimes committed against journalists in South Sudan.

 “My appeal is that protection should be provided to journalists. This protection is not like extraordinary protection, and by protecting journalists you are protecting human rights, which is a right of everybody.”

He further highlighted that crimes that have been committed since 2014 have yet to be investigated. According to media reports, 10 journalists have been killed since 2014, including Peter Moi, who was killed in Juba in 2015.

A British freelance war reporter named Christopher Allen was killed by a government soldier in Yei-River County, Central Equatoria State while covering fighting between government forces and the SPLA-IO forces.