South Sudan: Independence and the role of the media

South Sudan is the world’s newest nation and the people there have high hopes for their country’s future. Peace and security remain fragile, however, and so do the working conditions for local journalists.

“Our journalists have a very stormy relationship with the security forces in South Sudan,” said Josephine Achiro. She is the program manager of Radio Bakhita, a Catholic radio station based in Juba, and one of the most widely listened to stations in South Sudan. “We face a lot of harassment from politicians and government officials for expressing other people’s views.”

DW-AKADEMIE project manager and media trainer Manuela Römer agreed. She has conducted several journalism workshops in the country and said a fundamental problem is that journalists and state officials do not trust each other. “Journalists need to know that they can work without being afraid,” she said, citing incidents where they have been arrested or have had their equipment confiscated. “State officials want to control and restrict the media, but on the other hand they also need the media to get important information out to the public.”

DW-AKADEMIE has been approaching this discrepancy by not only training journalists but also by holding workshops for other stakeholders, including state officials in South Sudan’s Ministry of Information. “It is important to include them in defining the role of the media”, said Römer.