The shutdown of the most popular Christian radio station in South Sudan’s capital city Juba entered its third month on Friday.
A radio listener in Juba confirmed to Radio Tamazuj on Friday that the station still cannot be heard on its normal frequency.
South Sudan’s National Security personnel shut down Catholic church-owned Radio Bakhita FM on 16 August, silencing its normal broadcasts of religious, social and news programmes, as well as broadcasts of music and worship services.
Bakhita FM was one of the leading anti-war voices in the South Sudanese media until its closure two months ago. It belongs to the Catholic Church, whose bishops in South Sudan have denounced the ongoing civil war as ‘evil’ and ‘immoral’.
The closure of Radio Bakhita came in August amid new government initiatives to support the war effort, including reorganization of the state TV and radio and preparations to launch a newspaper to “promote national sovereignty.”
The National Security Service returned the station’s keys to the Catholic Church on 12 September only after reiterating threats against the station not to broadcast content critical of the government.
Journalists in South Sudan have been regularly prevented from visiting hospitals, morgues, mass graves sites, and IDP camps. They have been encouraged to be more ‘nationalistic’ and supportive of the government.
According to the bishop of Juba Diocese, which runs Bakhita FM, the station remains closed by the Church pending further review of the situation.
Bakhita FM is the second most popular radio station in the South Sudanese capital, according to data published last year. It is named after a woman who escaped from slavery and later was honored by the Catholic Church as a saint.
Bakhita FM is not the only station in Juba currently off-air. Two commercial radio stations, Voice of the People (VOP) and Capital FM, are also closed reportedly due to business reasons.
Voice of Love in Malakal, another Catholic station, also remains off-air after destruction of its equipment earlier this year. Several other FM and AM stations in key conflict areas of the country remain off-air for the same reason.
Related:
Bill requires South Sudan secret police to swear obedience (6 Oct.)
Bishops declare South Sudan war ‘immoral’ (29 Sept.)
South Sudan government threatens to close second Catholic radio (30 Sept.)
National Security continue making threats against Radio Bakhita (12 Sept.)
Juba Catholics want church radio back on air (31 Aug.)
Timeline: media struggle in South Sudan (18 Aug.)