The Government of South Sudan has fervently but unsuccessfully tried to wipe the egg off its face and shake off accusations of endemic and entrenched human rights violations reported and documented by various rights groups, the UN, and civil society outfits among others.

The government was peeved last week when United States President Joe Biden extended the Continuation of the National Emergency concerning South Sudan.

Biden’s notice dated 29 March describes the situation in South Sudan as still being marked by activities that threaten the peace, security, or stability of South Sudan and the surrounding region, including widespread violence and atrocities, human rights abuses, recruitment and use of child soldiers, attacks on peacekeepers, and obstruction of humanitarian operations. 

On Monday, the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan released a 114-page report titled “State of Impunity: the persistence of violence and human rights violations in South Sudan” which faulted senior government officials and senior SSPDF officers for most serious crimes, including widespread attacks against civilians and extrajudicial killings.

The UN report identified Unity State Governor Joseph Monytuil and Lieutenant General Thoi Chany Reat of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) being among the individuals warranting criminal investigation about State-sanctioned extrajudicial killings carried out in Mayom in August 2022, among others.

The Commission’s findings also identify other individuals warranting further scrutiny or investigation about human rights violations in Warrap State, Upper Nile State, northern parts of Jonglei State, and the Equatoria states. According to the report, senior army officers and politicians carry out abuses without fear of accountability.

Firing on all cylinders, Acting Foreign Minister Deng Dau Deng and Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth have since last weekend tried to outdo each other in defending the government’s checkered human rights record and painting a rosy picture with both claiming that there have been improvements.

Addressing journalists during a press conference in Juba on Saturday, Dau took a snipe at the International Community and blamed them for painting a negative picture of the government.

“Some of our foreign friends have continued to play the role of doubting Thomases by occasionally dampening our spirit through unhelpful actions such as renewal of sanctions and arms embargo, unjustified condemnations at the Human Rights Council, and just yesterday (29 March), through the renewal of what the United States Government calls ‘Notice on the Continuation of the National Emergency concerning South Sudan’,” he lambasted.

Dau said that despite the renewal of international sanctions, the government would not be distracted from implementing the 2018 peace deal.

“Notwithstanding the criticism that we receive from time to time from our foreign friends, the Government of the Republic of South Sudan will continue to implement R-ARCRSS in spirit and letter,” he declared. “The government has amply demonstrated the necessary political will to implement the agreement in good faith. It will therefore not be distracted by any uniformed and misplaced critiques”

Media under siege

At the same press conference, the acting foreign minister accused journalists working for foreign media of negatively reporting about South Sudan.

“For journalists, we urge you to report fairly. We know that if you have not condemned South Sudan, you will not be a good journalist. If you are not saying you have been taken in (arrested) and or been obstructed, you are not a good journalist and no one will read your piece,” he charged. “We want to encourage you to leave this negative writing, and talk about the promotion of democracy.”

Changing tact without missing a beat, Dau said the press was not called to be intimidated.

“It is important to tell you this. I am surprised that CNN, BBC, Aljazeera are not here and I know if it were something terrific or bad, they would have come and attended,” he said. “We have to check that and if that is why they are here (in South Sudan), then we will ask Media Authority to investigate these media houses.”

On the status of the UN-operated Radio Miraya, Dau said the popular radio should seek accreditation from the government.

“We need Miraya FM to be accredited. How did you come to attend this press conference and you are not accredited?” He asked Miraya’s Lukuri Henry, “Miraya FM must be accredited. We are an independent country. We are not a small pocket of another country and we have our regulations and rules.”

Turning to a Voice of America (VOA) reporter, Dau warned threateningly, “We want you to report exactly what we have said here today, do not go and remove some of the things because it will endanger your life.”

Meanwhile, at the same press conference, the usually combative Information Minister Michael Makuei said he did not blame U.S President Joe Biden because the reports the latter receives are penned by the international organizations that operate in South Sudan. He promised that the government will continue to implement the peace agreement.

“The reports that go to America and the world at large are the reports which are written by the people who are living here in South Sudan. They are the reports written by NGOs, UN agencies, and all those who are concerned about South Sudan. The paradox is that the reports that go from here are always negative and anti-government,” he said. “What I can say is that President Biden and all the others are not to blame for whatever action they take but it is the people here, those who write the reports from here misleading the International Community.”

Makuei bans UN Radio Miraya FM from covering government

The information minister lashed out at Radio Miraya and reiterated his directive banning the station from covering government events and functions across South Sudan, threatening that its journalists would be arrested.

“For Miraya FM, we are in crisis with you and you should not have been allowed by the foreign ministry to come and attend this (press conference). Had I known from the very beginning, I would have sent you out because Miraya FM has refused to be registered by the Media Authority, and yet the registration is free just to be registered and you are given the license so that you operate like other media houses.  If SSBC can be registered, which media house is above SSBC to operate in South Sudan?” he fumed. “I had already issued an order that Miraya FM should not be allowed to attend any government functions and any Miraya FM journalist who comes, not authorized, not registered, will be sent away or arrested because he is operating illegally.”

The combative minister also accused Radio Miraya of allegedly always spreading lies about South Sudan.

“Miraya FM is one of the radios that is spreading lies, supporting and causing havoc in South Sudan because it is not registered and as such it is working that way yet they claim that they are working for peace,” he castigated.

In 2018, the government suspended the operations of Radio Miraya in Juba, citing its failure to comply with directives to register by the provisions of the media regulatory body.

The order issued by South Sudan’s Media Authority in March 2018 asked the National Communication Authority to withdraw the frequency 101 FM assigned to the Miraya for non-compliance.

“This is to inform the public and media houses that the Media Authority has suspended the operation for persistent non-compliance and refusal to be regulated under the media laws of the Republic of South Sudan,” the letter read at the time.

ED: Radio Miraya operates under a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) which the UN signed with the Government of South Sudan and is not mandated to seek licensing from or be accredited by the government.

In July 2017, South Sudanese authorities blocked access to four news including Radio Tamazuj, Sudan Tribune, and Nyamilepedia after accusing them of ‘hostile’ reporting.

The Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS) has also often complained about the harassment and arbitrary detention of journalists by the security forces.

On 3 January, six journalists from the state-owned South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC) were arrested for allegedly leaking a video showing President Salva Kiir wetting himself while commissioning a road in Terekeka in December 2022.