South Sudanese President Salva Kiir skipped Mass at Kator Cathedral in Juba on Sunday, one day after his security forces shut down the Church’s Radio Bakhita FM.
The president, who regularly attends Sunday Mass at the cathedral, was not seen there today, according to a worshipper.
Kator Cathedral is the seat of the archbishop of Juba Archdiocese, which runs Bakhita Radio, the station closed by Kiir’s security personnel on Saturday.
The Catholic station, which describes itself as a ‘voice of peace’, is one of the most popular stations in South Sudan’s capital city. It remained off-air throughout the day on Sunday. The shutdown is expected to continue into a third day on Monday.
The station is named after Josephine Bakhita, a former Sudanese slave who was later canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church.
News Editor Ochan David Nicholas, who was arrested on Saturday, remained in detention for a second consecutive day on Sunday. The National Security Service denied the station’s director permission to visit him.
“I am really worried for him,” said a Catholic radio worker.
Kiir’s spokesman, Ateny Wek said late Saturday that the president was unaware of the decision to shut down the Catholic radio station. In an interview with Radio Tamazuj, the spokesman said the decision was made by an official within the National Security Service and did not involve Kiir.
Radio Bakhita is the latest media house to be targeted by the National Security Service, a security organ that reports to the president. All major independent media houses in Juba have been raided by government security forces since December.
The radio station announced yesterday that the reason for the closure was for reflecting views of the SPLM-in-Opposition, which clashed on Friday with troops loyal to Salva Kiir in Unity State.
Minister of Information Michael Makuei Lueth has warned journalists not to broadcast interviews with SPLM-IO or other opponents of the government, but not all media houses have complied with this directive.
Human rights organizations Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have alleged that the clampdown on media freedom in South Sudan is related to a ‘cover-up’ of mass killings carried out by government forces.
South Sudanese journalists have been regularly denied entry to hospitals, morgues, IDP camps, mass grave sites, and some entire towns and neighborhoods that were abandoned by civilians who were targeted in mass violence.
Besides Bakhita FM, authorities also targeted a Christian radio station in Northern Bahr al Ghazal late last month, shutting it down for several days.
The Catholic Church’s Conference of Bishops in South Sudan have been informed of the closure of Bakhita FM and the detention of the station’s news editor.
The bishops are yet to make any statement.
File photo: President Salva Kiir and Vice President James Wani Igga at Kator Cathedral in Juba
Related:
South Sudan official shuts down Catholic radio station (16 Aug.)
Church says ‘blamed’ by S Sudan politicians (5 July)