Spirit FM Manager arrested in Yei
Security officials in Yei on Monday evening April 26th arrested and detained the General Manager of a private popular local radio station, Spirit FM 99.9, Loburi Alex William. Loburi was arrested at around 8:30pm as he was having supper with his family and members of staff at the Radio premises located at Old Mission Road.
Reports from Yei indicate that Loburi Alex William was picked by two armed public security officials one named, Henry Gaga who said they were acting on instructions of the County Commissioner, David Lokonga Moses. David Lokonga Moses who is the County SPLM Chairman and Head of the Security Committee reportedly insisted on addressing the population yesterday on the radio aabout his party's victory. According to the General Manager, Loburi Alex William, the Commissioner had ordered for his arrest after he could not be connected live on radio. Loburi said the Commissioner had called him at around 4:00 pm asking to be connected through a telephone link but it was not possible as there were recorded and sponsored programmes running on air that could not be stopped. The General Manager further said the County Commissioner had used intimidating statements on phone such as Alex, I know you are not with us” before hanging up. I tried to explain to His Excellency about the programme lineup and the absence of my technical staff at that time but the Commissioner did not accept what I was telling him” Loburi lamented shortly after his temporary release from the police cells.
After his release last night, Loburi was forced to walk on foot for over 4km on the dangerous streets of Yei in the dead of night to find his way back to the radio station. Loburi observed that although he had not been beaten or tortured, the arrest and detention in the dark unventilated police cell had frightened him and he felt very intimidated. While speaking on a telephone interview with the News Editor of Spirit FM, Akim Olum Mugisa said the armed officers from the public security first came to the station asking to take away one of the presenters who was in the studio at around 7:40 pm. The explanation by Akim Olum Mugisa that it was a recorded programme on air without anybody in the studios fell on deaf ears before one of the security agents decided to physically force his way into the studios and conduct a search himself, but he could not find any human being even after checking behind all the studio curtains. They immediately left but surfaced later demanding to take my boss whom I accompanied in the company car together with his wife and one of the security officials to the police station where he was detained before we drove back to the station heart broken” Akim said.
Spirit FM is one of the private media houses that had exercised total impartiality during the electoral process especially in the campaign period when it allocated equal airtime to all political parties including independent candidates.
The General Manager was temporarily released from the cells at around 9:30 pm and told by the Police Commissioner Jacob Matoc to report back in the morning of Tuesday April 27. Spirit FM is one of the private media houses that had exercised total impartiality during the electoral process especially in the campaign period when it allocated equal airtime to all political parties including independent candidates. The programmes Manager said they had observed all the electoral media regulations as set by the National Electoral Commission-NEC through out the entire electoral process including offering free airtime to mobilize the electorate for the just concluded important national exercise.
When the radio General Manager reported back to the police station on Tuesday morning, he was told by the Police Commissioner Jacob Matoc not involve the media house into "siasa" or politics. Jacob Matoc further accused the radio boss of allegedly being against the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) and its policies adding that the radio was there to be used by the County Commissioner at any time he felt necessary. Among the accusations, the General Manager was reminded of how the radio had hosted the Chairman of United Democratic Front(UDF) Peter Abdarahaman Sule after suspected wounded heroes disrupted and dispersed a rally the politician was addressing at Yei Freedom Square on January 30th this year. Peter Abdarahaman Sule was contesting against the incumbent and now Governor-Elect for Central Equatorial State, Clement Wani Konga who stood on SPLM ticket.
No legal charges have been brought against the radio station boss by the time he was declared a free man to leave the police station after being warned that the radio could be closed down if its management does not take "heed".
This is a second incident of security agents attacking media houses in Central Equatoria State after two radio stations, Liberty FM and the catholic founded Radio Bakhita in Juba were temporarily closed last month for airing interviews of a campaign team of an opposition candidate who was vying for governorship of the state. Before the media houses could be allowed to resume operations, their administrations were cautioned to stay out of politics and concentrate on other programmes.
For how long shall the temple of information in South Sudan continue to be defiled and trampled upon like this by the powers that are meant to represent us. The independent media of Southern Sudan must bind strong together, to counter such political pressures, that all burgeoning states experience.
