Juba, South Sudan
August 27, 2021—A journalist working with Classic FM Radio Station in Juba is requesting the office of the First Vice President for Gender and Youth Cluster, Rebecca Nyadeng Garang.
This comes less than three days after one of the bodyguards of the vice president Nyadeng allegedly reported to have slapped Journalist Denis Logonyi on Wednesday at Nyakuron Cultural Centre while covering the event during commemoration of the International Youth Day.
According to the reliable information received by Nyamilepedia, Journalist Denis Logonyi said what happened to him was very disgraceful and it should not happen to any journalist again in the country but Logonyi demands a sincere apology issued by the office of the vice president, Rebecca Nyadeng not only to him as victim but to all media houses in South Sudan.
“It is an unfortunate situation that happened on Wednesday that we don’t expect it to happen again to any journalist in South Sudan. What happened was uncalled for, and it requires an apology from the office of the vice president to issue an apology not actually to me, but to the entire media fraternity in South Sudan,” Logonyi quoted by Radio Tamazuj to have demanded.
He said the uniformed bodyguard approached him at the function and ordered him to delete all the photos he had taken and asked for his press identity card, which he showed him.
According to him, another officer who knew nothing about the matter came and started to harass him and slapped him on the face after they all resolved the issue.
“While I ceased to work and I went to stand aside, people came to ask me what happened and why the soldier was pulling me here and there. As I was narrating to them, the same armed soldier came pointing at me, and then he slapped me,” Logonyi narrated. “So, this was too bad for a person who is guarding a high profile figure like the Vice President. It may look like it is an individual act, but this goes back to the office of the vice president on the selection of the people she moves with.”He added.
Patrick Oyet Charles, President of the Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS) stated that they are in contact with the office of the Vice President to investigate the matter and believe that the issue will be resolved amicably.
