The Committee to
Protect Journalists condemns the attack and calls on authorities to apprehend
the perpetrators and hold them to account.
The
gunmen ambushed a two-car convoy and shot 11 dead, including the journalists, according to news reports and outgoing Information Minister Derrick
Alfred, who spoke to CPJ. Some individuals survived the attack.
The convoy,
which included James Marodama Benjamin, commissioner of Raja County, was
returning to Raja after visiting families of individuals killed in another
attack by unidentified gunmen on January 22 in Sofo town, local journalists
told CPJ.
The
journalists were Musa Mohamed, director of the state-run radio station Raja FM;
Adam Juma, presenter and reporter for Raja FM; Raja FM reporters Dalia Marko
and Randa George; and Boutros Martin, cameraman for the Western Bahr el Ghazal
branch of South Sudan Television, or SSTV, according to Alfred, Deng Alor,
representative of the Western Bahr el Ghazal journalists' union, and the local
privately owned daily The Citizen.
The
motive behind the attack and its perpetrators are unknown. Phillip Aguer,
spokesman for the South Sudanese army, claimed Ugandan rebels were behind the attack, while state
governor Rizik Zachariah claimed the perpetrators were part of the rebel group
led by former Vice President Riek Machar, according to news reports.
"The murder of five journalists is
a devastating attack on South Sudan's already beleaguered press
corps," CPJ East Africa Representative Tom Rhodes said. "We urge
Western Bahr el Ghazal authorities to do their utmost to identify the
perpetrators and bring them to justice, and to ensure journalists are allowed
to carry out their duties safely."
Press
freedom in South Sudan has deteriorated since the country gained its
independence in 2011, according to sources who spoke to CPJ in late 2014. Government security
forces raided and briefly shut down numerous media outlets in Juba in 2014, and
local journalists told CPJ they feared covering sensitive topics and censored
themselves. The most censored topic, they said, was coverage of rebels.
CPJ is an
independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom
worldwide.
Media contacts:
Sue Valentine
Africa Program
Coordinator
Peter Nkanga
West Africa
Representative
Email: pnkanga@cpj.org
Tom Rhodes
East Africa
Representative
Email: trhodes@cpj.org
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