Jonglei State, South Sudan
May 30, 2022 — The management of Radio Jonglei 95.9 FM has reinstated three of the four employees who were suspended last week.
On Thursday last week, the Radio Jonglei Chief Executive Officer Tijwog Aguet suspended the station’s Director, John Achiek Mabior, manager Majok Guet, finance manager Matuor Mabior, and Editor-In-Chief Deng Gai Deng.
The suspensions were ordered on the same day the state information minister, John Samuel Manyuon, issued a Ministerial Order suspending the operations of Radio Jonglei 95.9 FM for what he termed as “supplanting and superseding the government protocols and undermining the state leadership in an on-air news bulletin.”
After the shutdown of the radio station, CEO Tijwog came out to apologize to the state authorities and described the issue as a mistake. He then suspended four of his working staff; however, the suspension order was immediately protested by the Union of Journalists of South Sudan which called on CEO Tijwog to lift the suspension or else would be sued in court.
In his statement to the media on Thursday, the Director of Jonglei 95.5 FM, John Achiek de Mabior, said the suspended journalists have been reinstated except the news editor who is still undergoing an investigation.
“We have been reinstated but only one person is left out because he is in Juba for exams and when he comes back then he will be reinstated,” Radio Director Mabior told media on Thursday.
For his part, the Chief Executive Officer, Tijwog Agwet confirmed that the radio station went back on air since Wednesday.
“We investigated them and then we finished with investigations with exception of one person who has not been here since,” he said.
