July 2023 – National Press Club

Juba, 19^th July, 2023- The National Press Club-South Sudan (NPC-SS) awarded a new motorbike to Mr. Logonyi Denis Wani, a Classic FM journalist whose motorbike was stolen earlier this month while covering a story in the field.

On July 4, 2023, we learned that Mr. Logonyi’s motorbike had been stolen as he was covering a story in Nagasogola church. The news of his stolen bike sparked sympathy among journalists and media organisations.

“NPC, please take or ignore this suggestion: we have all read the story of our colleague Longonyi, who lost his motorbike during the scuffle in customs yesterday. How about you make an appeal to some NGOs like CEPO or UN to get a motorcycle for him since there’s a strong justification that he was in the field for coverage? Warning: it’s just a suggestion”, Ajith, the Director of the Catholic Radio Network, wrote in a message to the NPC-WhatsApp group on July 5, 2023.

Ochaya James Philip, National Press Club, South Sudan (NPC-SS), handed over the donation to the Journalist at the NPC-SS office in the presence of Mary Ajith, the director of the Catholic Radio Network, who came up with the suggestion to stand in solidarity with Mr. Logonyi.

“On behalf of the NPC-SS, I am very excited to welcome you at the NPC-SS office to witness the handover ceremony for the new motorcycle, the Bajaj Boxer, to our Media colleague, Mr. Logonyi Denis Wani, whose motorbike got stolen while on duty”, said Ochaya during the handover ceremony on Wednesday.

Ochaya said it is high time for the media sector to come together and provide a conducive working environment for the media, especially in the coming period of elections.

“This is a solidarity stand with our journalists to ease his work process and encourage them to do the work. As the Press Club, we believe the aspect of mobility is a priority for our journalists to be able to go and bring information to the public”, he added.

In 2021, the NPC-SS was able to settle the case of one of the journalists who was imprisoned for reasons unrelated to his journalistic activity, but the NPC-SS felt it was vital to stand in solidarity with him.

On her part, Mary Ajith, the Director of the Catholic Radio Network, said she is glad to be at the NPC office for the first time, and for a good reason. She said that when talking about the safety and protection of journalists, it is not only the journalist in person, but also their belongings and the garget they use in the field.

“When Denis lost his bike, I felt bad for him because it can cause trauma because he doesn’t have a bike to reach where he used to reach for news coverage. It is high time that, as media institutions, we take the issue of protection of journalists beyond their personal protection and safety of journalist but also to the garget they use”, Mary said.

She pointed out that it is our collective responsibility as media colleagues to support and stand with one another. She urged journalists and media organisations to work together to show solidarity.

Mr. Logonyi Denis Wani, thank NPC-SS and the Director of the Catholic Radio Network for their solidarity support.

“Today is an important day, a day that a journalist can call our day. A bike looks like a small thing to some people, but to me personally, I know what it means because it helps me move far distances, like for a press conference.

“Thank you, NPC-SS, for all the processes that you have taken to make sure that this bike is finally here. I am forever grateful and would like to thank NPC from the bottom of my heart,” he said.

He stated that when his bike was taken, and he wrote about it on his social media page, he received a lot of sympathy from his colleagues. He believes that the bike has benefited seven people out of 10. Whether he goes out to the field, he always transports a colleague who does not have a means of transportation back to the office.

WAU 12, July 2023 – The National Press Club South Sudan (NPC-SS), with support from IREX through USAID conducted a peer media training today for 20 new journalists and members of the civil society in the Western Bahr el Ghazal State’s capital, Wau.

The journalists are brought from the two counties of Western Bahr el Ghazal State such as Wau municipality, Jur River, and Wau County.

The training focuses on understanding the international and South Sudan legal frameworks for promoting freedom of expression and the media.

The journalists learned about specific articles in the Transitional Constitution of South Sudan 2011 as amended that support the freedom of expression; and also, the three Acts the Media Authority Act, the Right of Access to Information Act, the Broadcasting Cooperation Act, and what international law says about media and press freedom. Why is it important to the work of the media?

The training also covers many aspects, including South Sudan’s code of conduct, the ethics of journalism, and the role of stakeholders in promoting freedom of expression and access to information in South Sudan, which of course include citizens, civil society, and the government.

On the second day of the training tomorrow, Thursday, the season will highlight the role of women, youth, and other minority groups in participation in the constitution-making and election processes and share lessons learned from neighboring countries, ranging from Kenya and Uganda.

Speaking during the opening remark, Western Bahr el Ghazal State Director General of the Ministry of Information, David Jongo welcomed the initiative of the National Press Club South Sudan to extend its training packages to Wau to enhance the skills of journalists.

“NPC came to this state twice to train us here, and it has come back again; this is very good. If we clap our hands for you, the NPC-SS, it will not be enough, but let’s say, may God help you more to help our journalists,” said Jongo.

Jongo also called on the journalists attending the training to acquire more knowledge on how they can carry out their duties, especially in covering the upcoming general elections.

“Ahead of us are elections, and this is a great chance that the NPC-SS has come to train you and get you ready for the upcoming elections. Journalists have a great role to play in the community; journalists are the correct people to give accurate information to the community,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bullen Kenyi Yatta, the NPC-SS chairperson of the board of directors, said the training conducted by the National Press Club aims to shape the professionalism of the journalists so they can conduct their duties professionally.

“The vision of the National Press Club is to see that journalists like you should actually exercise their profession in a safe environment, you should exercise your profession fully even when you are threatened,” said Yatta.

“We cannot talk of democracy unless we see the journalists operating freely; all these workshops aim at building you up so that we can meaningfully exercise democracy in this country,” he said.

On his part, National Press Club Executive Director Ochaya James said the focus and key mandate of the National Press Club are to ensure that journalists operate freely without interference and to build up strong networks of journalists who can stand for each other in good and difficult times.

“Our focus and key mandate is to see that we promote a conducive working environment for the media operation in South Sudan through different ways, which include advocacy, information sharing, and training, and this is one of the key objectives of our capacity building: we want to see that we empower our journalists and encourage them to set up strong networks to help them share their challenges and get assistance where necessary,” said Ochaya.

One of the attending journalists who spoke during the training, Pasquale Aleu said the training will morally shape their future by providing them with guarding principles and the skill of reporting.

“The importance of this workshop is that it is really going to shape the future of journalists in the selected counties. Like now, ahead of us, there will be preparation for the permanent constitution-making process, and there are also elections coming up,” said Aleu.

“The training is also preparing us to do fact-checking before we produce any news to the public because the public believes in media, and they trust media, and if we do not provide the correct and facts information, this means we are confusing our population,” he said

NPC-SS donates a new motorbike to stolen Classic FM journalist Logonyi Denis Wani

NPC-SS trains journalists’ peer group in Wau