An Eye Radio journalist who was kidnapped by unidentified gunmen in the capital Juba last month has quit his job as a news editor.

Woja Emmanuel told Radio Tamazuj Tuesday he made his decision last week after reflecting on his ordeal, which ended with his escape from the kidnappers in early March.

 On March 3, a man approached Woja, near the station’s office in Juba, greeted him by name, and then pulled out a pistol and ordered him to get into a waiting Toyota Harrier.

 Woja entered the car, which held three other men, including one more with a gun. The group blindfolded him, held him all day, interrogated him about his work, and accused him of supporting anti-government groups.

 According to Woja, while he was being driven away, he was forced to drink an unidentified substance and became drunk.

 That night, the kidnappers drove Woja to a forested area on the outskirts of Juba, where he said he believed they planned to harm him, but a gunfight erupted between his captors and unidentified attackers, and he managed to escape.

 He said that he stayed at a local health facility, where medical doctors told him that they could not identify the substance he had ingested.

 “After the incident happened, I left Juba to have my treatment…So I decided to quit my job out of frustration,' said Woja Emmanuel. “The most important thing in my mind now is the fact that I am alive after what had happened. The rest of the things will surface by themselves after some time.”

 According to Woja, he was on a six-month employment contract with the independent broadcaster Eye Radio.

"I started working with Eye Radio in July 2019. I left as a web editor but I normally work as a weekend news editor," he said.

 Woja has denied supporting any opposition groups and said that he had a right to express his opinions on social media.

 "Many people have actually warned me severally because I am vocal on social media, but I believe my opinions are personal, not against anyone… My advice to my colleagues in journalism is that the profession is a calling, and it comes with challenges, but we should not give up,” he said.

 The former South Sudanese editor assured the public that he is currently responding to treatment abroad. “I am now recovering and willing to go back to practice journalism again after some time,” he concluded.