The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned the killing of South Sudanese journalist Peter Julius Moi, saying that his murder was ‘senseless’ and the reasons for it are not clear.
Moi was a reporter for business weekly The Corporate and independent bi-monthly New Nation. He was shot in South Sudan’s capital on Wednesday night in the Jebel Kujur area of the city.
CPJ reported in a statement on Thursday that Moi’s editors could not determine why he was targeted: “Otieno Ogeda, chief executive officer of The Corporate, and Kenneth Ouka, editorial consultant for New Nation, told CPJ they could not identify any articles written by Moi in the publications that may have triggered the attack.”
Repeated calls to the police and to presidential spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny about Moi’s murder were left unanswered, CPJ added.
“We condemn the senseless killing of Peter Julius Moi in what has become a deadly year for journalists in South Sudan,” said Tom Rhodes, CPJ’s East Africa representative. “More and more independent voices are being silenced in South Sudan at this critical time in the country’s history, when the public desperately needs impartial information.”