South Sudan authorities detain Juba Post managing editor in Juba
From Sudan Tribune by Manyang Mayom (Khartoum) 13 January 2009:
The managing editor of The Juba Post, Isaac Billy Gideon, was detained Monday for a press release that was run in the newspaper two months ago. Gideon, who spent about nine hours in custody, was arrested at 10:00am yesterday but was bailed out at 6:50 pm.- - -
The Juba Post Editor-in-Chief Charles Luganya Ronyo, who is currently in Khartoum, strongly condemned the arrest of his managing editor. He said that a newspaper cannot be held accountable for press releases or public opinions. "The arrest of Mr. Gideon is an attempt at intimidation for newspapers not to run press releases or opinion concerning the land grabbing in the south."
The Juba Post newspaper has been registered in Khartoum on 9 January, 2005 and start printing 5,000 copies weekly from Monday and Wednesday double a week said Luganya. "Our newspaper is read in Southern Sudan and in Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan."
The Madi community in Juba issued a press statement two months ago condemning the malpractices of land allocation in Nimule to Business. In the press release that was also published by many other newspapers mentioned SPLA Brigadier William Deng of being in charge of the land mismanagement?
"The press release was signed by advocate Becho Pitia" said Luganya.
When the press release was published, Brigadier Deng approached the newspaper and denied that story, but the Juba Post told him that they are not accountable for the press release from the Madi community.
However, Deng has filed a case against The Juba Post under Article 152 of 2008 of South Sudan for libel and self-defamation.
Sudan media executive held over land article
From Reuters (Juba) by Skye Wheeler 14 January 2009:
A south Sudanese newspaper executive on Wednesday said he was detained after his tabloid published an article criticizing a senior army officer for his role in a tribal land deal.See Sudan Watch 14 January 2009: South Sudan's proposed Land Bill will deny Sudanese ownership of their own land by granting foreigners 99 year leases
Isaac Swangin, managing director of the Juba Post, is the second senior media figure in the region detained over controversial articles in recent months.
Freedom of the press was guaranteed under a 2005 peace deal that ended more than two decades of civil war between north and south Sudan and set up a semi-autonomous southern government. But editors and journalists in both north and south complain of continued censorship, print-run seizures and harassment.
Swangin said the Juba Post was one of a number of newspapers that published a press release from the Madi tribal community complaining southern soldiers from the majority Dinka tribe were selling their land to Somali investors without permission.
A major general mentioned by name in the statement later demanded a printed apology at the paper's office in the south's capital Juba, he added. Swangin said the paper refused, but interviewed the army official and ran an article including his perspective.
"We thought that was the end," Swangin said, "but he came back yesterday with the police."
Swangin said he was released on bail on Tuesday evening after being held in prison for nine hours. It was unclear whether he would face charges.
Nhial Bol, editor and owner of the daily Citizen newspaper, was held in a police station for three days in October over an article criticizing high salaries in south Sudan's legal ministry. (Editing by Andrew Heavens and Mark Trevelyan)
BREAKING NEWS: UNDP SOUTHERN SUDAN GROSS ABUSE OF AUTHORITY & SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF SUDANESE WOMEN
ReplyDeleteStory by Albino Deng (albinodeng63@hotmail.com)
The UNDP Office of Audit and Investigation based in New York has sent a team of investigators led by Elizabeth Gilbert and Nardos Asseffa to investigate serious allegations of "Gross Abuse of Authority and Sexual Exploitation of Local Sudanese Women" by UNDP International Staff. The chief suspect under investigation is Mr. Kun Vee Lee, Head of Operations UNDP Southern Sudan.
It is alleged that Mr. Kun Vee Lee a married man is having inimate sexual relations with Mrs. Josephine Baruch-Tucker, the Procurement Specialist who reports to Mr. Kun Vee Lee in violation of UNDP policy. More horrendous is the fact that Mrs. Josephine Baruch-Tucker who is a married woman is also having intimate sexual relations with two other married men working in UNDP Southern Sudan office, identified as Mr. Nassariudin Shah - Chief of Finance, Mr. Nadir Nassih - Procurement Officer. Mrs. Josephine Baruch-Tucker is a sexual maniac and behaves like a bitch on heat. She wastes no time in luring men to have sexual orgy with her despite the fact that she is a married woman. This has become a matter of concern to the local staff and they have reported the case to the new UNDP Head of Office, Mr. Yucer Onder, who wasted no time in inviting the investigation team from New York to investigate the rot that is eating into the moral fabric of Southern Sudan.
It is significant to note that earlier Mrs. Josephine Baruch-Tucker was having intimate sexual relations with Mr. Richard Okura - Procurement Engineering Adviser but when this was discovered by her supervisor boyfriend Mr. Kun Vee Lee, she changed the story and claimed that Mr. Richard Okura has attempted to rape her in the office. This resulted in the immediate dismissal of Mr. Richard Okura and the total removal of the Procurement Engineering Unit, which is credited with doing a very good job of vetting all construction related procurement contracts and saving UNDP and the Government of Southern Sudan a lot of money.
It is understood that Mrs. Josephine Baruch-Tucker used her sexual influence the promotion of Mr. Nadir Nassih who has now secured a very attractive UNDP contract as a Senior Assets Manager. The award of this job was done secretly without open advertisement by Mr. Kun Vee Lee, Mrs. Josephine Baruch-Tucker and Mr. Nassariudin Shah contrary to UNDP policy of transparency in hiring people to senior jobs. There is a lot of corruption going on at UNDP Southern Sudan touching on employment, procurement, missappropriation of funds and sexual abuse.
It has also emerged that some of the UNDP International Staff are expoloiting young Southern Sudanese women by giving them lots of money to sleep with them in the UNDP compound. One notorious International Staff Mr. Nelson Mbu - Project Manager from Cameroon has now impregnated Ms. Venesia Saidi a young Southern Sudanese woman and her parents are demanding that Mr. Nelson Mbu must marry their daughter because the pregancy is very advanced, but Mr. Nelson Mbu has been persuading the woman to have an abortion instead. Those who are familiar with the story say that this is the third Southern Sudanese woman to be impregnated by Mr. Nelson Mbu. For the other two named as Ms. Elizabeth Achayo and Ms. Fatima Abdalla he paid for them cash to have an abortion at a private clinic in Atla-Bara "C" near Juba University.
The recent sacking of Dr. Daniel Kabira - Head of HIV/AIDS by Mr. George Conway the UNDP Deputy Head of Office supported by Mr. Kun Vee Lee has shocked all the African International Staff. Dr. Kabira was sacked for refusing to release funds from the Global Fund to service an American NGO whereas the funds were meant for Southern Sudanese children living with HIV/AIDS. This is a matter of concern for the Government of Southern Sudan who have demanded that the UNDP office must be headed by a person of African origin who can identify with the aspirations of Southern Sudan.
Shame on your newspaper for posting such lies about innocent people. We knew these people and all these stories are lies. What makes your paper credible. Do all your stories lack credibility?
ReplyDeleteIf this story is true then why no one has been prosecuted and send to prison?
ReplyDeleteIt is a lie by those who were committing procurement fraud in the UNDP Office and did not like the measure that were put in place by the Management
ReplyDelete