Sisto Germano Ohide was arbitrarily arrested, detained and eventually released without being charged.
This statement was originally published on cpj.org on 8 August 2024.
Editor’s note: Ohide told CPJ that he was released on bail on August 9. As of August 12, prosecutors had yet to decide whether to charge him, Ohide said.
South Sudan authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Singaita FM journalist Sisto Germano Ohide, who is ill and undergoing malaria treatment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Thursday.
“Sisto Germano Ohide’s arrest is yet another stain on South Sudan’s already poor press freedom record, and it is deeply worrying that he remains in custody while severely ill,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Muthoki Mumo, in Nairobi. “Authorities should release Ohide and drop all charges against him.”
On August 6, police in Kapoeta town in Eastern Equatoria State took Ohide into custody after producing a warrant accusing him of defamation, but released him shortly afterward so that he could receive malaria treatment, according to Singaita FM station manager David Mayen. When the journalist appeared at the station as directed on August 7, he was arrested and later transferred to Torit Central Police Station, about 75 miles away, where he remains detained without charge.
Ohide’s arrest is believed to be connected to his July 26 report, aired by Singaita FM, about a dispute between a local Catholic diocese and a woman accused of breaking a statue belonging to the church, according to Mayen and news reports by the exiled media outlet Radio Tamazuj.
Daniel Justin Boulo Achor, a spokesperson for South Sudan’s national police, said he was unaware of the arrest.
