South Sudan’s Union of Journalists in Wau town of Western Bahr al Ghazal State has called on the government to bring to justice those who killed five journalists in Raja County last year.
On Sunday, 25 January 2015, unknown gunmen opened fire on a two-car convoy carrying the Commissioner of Raja County James Benjamin and journalists of Raja Radio and South Sudan TV/Radio Wau branch, killing eleven people total. A child and a woman were among the dead.
Different sources variously suspected either South Sudanese rebels or the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) as the responsible party, but investigators of the incident have never publicly released information about their findings.
The call for justice came on the occasion of the first anniversary of the killing of the five journalists, which was organized by journalists in Wau on Monday.
The chairperson of the Union of Journalists in Wau, Alor Deng Kur, in his speech on the occasion also called on the government to grant freedom of access to information for journalists. He said journalists are facing harassment and abuse because of their job.
Alor called on the new government of Wau state to continue with the investigation to find the perpetrators behind the killing of five journalists and hold them accountable.
He stressed that the Union of Journalists will continue to make sure journalists are doing their job professionally and respect the ethics of journalism.
Photo: SSTV/R premises in Wau, Western Bahr al Ghazal (Gurtong)