Recent events in the country have left a lot to be desired by citizens and non-citizens in the country. The recent assassination of one of the rising sons of this land, Isaiah Abraham, has left many wondering what has become of the country.
Recent events in the country have left a lot to be desired by citizens and non-citizens in the country. The recent assassination of one of the rising sons of this land, Isaiah Abraham, has left many wondering what has become of the country.
Reports say that Isaiah was dragged from his house at night and shot by yet to be identified and arrested assailants. This came after he had received death threats from people who were not happy with the ideas that he expressed in his writings.
For those who may not know, Isaiah was a graduate of two universities in Kenya. This in itself means that he was among the few in the country whose contribution was badly needed in the development of the country at a time like this.
The death of Isaiah is not only a loss to the media fraternity in the country but it is a big blow to his family, many of whom were looking up to him for moral and material support. Who will fill this gap for them now that he is no more?
But his killers did not consider that. What they considered probably are their own narrow, selfish interests, which they felt were under threat from the pen of Isaiah. They decided to kill the bearer of the message instead of interrogating the message that the bearer brought.
We at the Christian Times wish to condemn in the strongest terms possible such acts of callousness from whichever quarter they came. We believe that the sanctity of life is God-given and no human being has the right to deprive another of the same.
It is sad to note that many other journalists have received death threats from purported state agents. These allegations are serious and each of them of them deserves to be investigated and the culprits made to answer for their intentions.
A recent meeting between the media fraternity, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the security agencies and the stakeholders deliberated on matters related to the media and security in Juba came up with recommendations to be adopted and implemented by the respective stakeholders in as far as the relation between the media and the state is concerned.
One of the recommendations was that in the event that a media body conducts itself in a manner contrary to the professional standards and ethics expected of it, the security fraternity shall discuss the matter and issue a warning to the respective media body. The security fraternity can thereafter take further legal measures in the event that the media body fails to adhere to the aforementioned warning.
This is what we as the media expects to happen, and not issuing of threats to media personalities when the subjects of their stories feel dissatisfied by what they report about. Going about it in any other way other than the legally established way would be cowardly and uncivilised.
The government ought to guarantee its citizens the freedom to express themselves and to receive information without fear or favour whatsoever!
It is our prayer and hope that government security agencies will rise to the occasion and bring the killers of Isaiah to book. This is the only way they will dispel the widespread notion that the killers were part and parcel of the governing system.
