South Sudan
The media landscape in South Sudan remains extremely precarious. Cases of threats, intimidation, kidnapping, and arbitrary arrests of journalists are not uncommon in the country. In addition to that, imposed censorship from authorities often constrains the work of media professionals, substantially compromising press freedom.
One of the biggest challenges faced by newsrooms in South Sudan is the constant interference of authorities with the media. When political leaders impose their agendas on the media, journalists often can’t operate independently.
In this context, new laws affecting the media were announced in 2013 and 2014, focusing on radio broadcasting and the right of access to information respectively. In 2017, the Media Authority of South Sudan, the country’s regulatory agency for the press, was established. Despite these efforts, however, cases of infringements of press freedom by national authorities still occur, and many of them are often attributed to the National Security Service.
The most popular media in South Sudan is radio, with over 40 radio stations being currently active in the country. South Sudan also has two state-owned television networks: the national South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation and the regional Equator Broadcasting Corporation. There are six newspapers, with four published in English, and two in Arabic.
Safety of journalists
At least 10 journalists have been killed in South Sudan in the past 10 years. One in 2012, seven in 2015, one in 2016, and one in 2017. Five imprisonments of journalists have been documented since 2017.
Our work in South Sudan
Radio Tamazuj is Free Press Unlimited’s main partner in South Sudan. The radio station is a daily news service and current affairs broadcaster covering South Sudan, the southern states of Sudan, and the borderlands between the two countries. Their typical programming includes reporting and discussion of politics, governance, peace-building, law, justice, culture, economy, education, gender, and human rights.
Radio Tamazuj was founded by Free Press Unlimited in 2011 after South Sudan became independent. In 2015, a horrific civil war and crackdown on independent media forced the entire editorial staff of Radio Tamazuj to flee South Sudan, leaving everything behind. The radio station then started to completely operate from exile, after which we worked hard towards a professional, independent Radio Tamazuj that can continue to provide the South Sudanese population with reliable, uncensored information independently. This was achieved in 2020. However, Radio Tamazuj and Free Press Unlimited are still and will continue to be close partners in bringing reliable information to the people of South Sudan.